Old Friend, New Life
by imjustaguy
Summary: L&O:SVU BTVS Detective Olivia Benson discovers an old friend in a very unexpected place. Sequel to Not All Monsters are Demons
1. Prologue

Disclaimer – I don't own either BTVS or L&O:SVU or anything else currently owned by anybody else and some of things I do own are actually owned by the bank. I'm not making any money off this story (if I was the bank wouldn't own anything I own).

Direct sequel to "Not All Monsters are Demons." I strongly suggest you read that story first as this one will make very little sense otherwise.

This is set in the "Muggle Way" universe and there will be some minor references to that story. It is not necessary to read that story to follow what is happening here (although it would nice if you did)

The Prologue is set a few weeks after the epilogue to "Not All Monsters Are Demons." The rest of the story takes place the following year.

Spoilers

BTVS – Post 'Chosen'. Spoilers through 'Chosen' and Angel's 'Not Fade Away'

L&O:SVU – Sometime mid season six – The only real spoilers are for the fifth season episode "Loss"

* * *

Old Friend, New Life

Prologue

Detectives Olivia Benson was reviewing her notes for her upcoming trial appearance. The new ADA, Casey Novak, was still settling in. Benson still hadn't made up her mind about her. She was intelligent and determined, but had no experience with SVU cases and Benson wasn't sure she could handle the types of things they dealt with everyday.

"Catching up on the paperwork," her partner, Elliot Stabler, sat down at his desk opposite her.

"Trying to," she replied. Her phone rang and she picked up. "Benson, SVU," she said.

"Detective Benson, this Marshall Hammond," came the voice from the phone.

"Hammond?" Benson remembered him from the last case Alex Cabot had worked on. "What can I do for you Marshall?"

"Are you and your partner free for lunch?" he asked. "I'd like to talk about our previous case. Can we meet at Jake's in an hour."

"We should be able to make that," Benson replied. Stabler looked up with a questioning look on his face. "Can I ask what this is about?" Benson inquired.

"Just a few details that need to be closed out," came the answer. "I'll see you in an hour."

The phone hung up.

"What's up?" Stabler asked.

"That was Hammond," Benson said. "He wants to meet us for lunch at Jake's. Said there's some details that need to be closed out from our previous case."

Stabler looked around the room and then leaned in and spoke in a quiet voice, "Something to do with Alex?"

"I don't know," Benson replied. "I guess we find out in an hour."

----

An hour later Benson and Stabler entered a diner a few blocks from the station house. They saw Federal Marshall Hammond sitting in a booth at the back of the diner, made their way over and sat down.

"Hammond," Stabler said, a touch of annoyance in his voice. "What's with the cloak and dagger routine."

"Benson, Stabler," he replied. "Look, I'm probably breaking a dozen rules talking to the two of you. But you're Cabot's friends and I figure she'd want you to know."

"Know what?" Benson said in a concerned voice. "What happened to Alex?"

"Six weeks after entering the Program, Alexandra Cabot disappeared," Hammond replied.

"What the hell kind of protection program are you people running," Stabler demanded. "You were supposed to keep her safe. How did they find her?"

"They didn't find her," Hammond replied. "When I say disappeared, I mean disappeared. We set her up in a house in Arizona. A week ago an agent went to the house for his weekly check in and found the place empty. All of her belongings were gone and the place was wiped clean. There were no fingerprints, no hairs in the drain, not a speck of dust. There was not one piece of physical evidence that the house had been lived in for months."

"What happened?" Benson said. "Did she move? Where did she go?"

"I don't know," Hammond said. "And it goes a lot farther than that. The next day all of our records about Alex Cabot's stay in the Witness Relocation Program were gone. Every computer file erased, all the paper records have gone missing, even the private ones in my office. Agent's case notes vanished."

"What are you talking about?" Stabler said. "How the hell could she disappear like that?"

"I told you, I don't know," Hammond said. "If the Cartel had found her, they would have done something public. Something that sent a message," he sighed. "I've been pushing this for the past week. Yesterday I got a phone call from my boss saying to drop the case. As far as the federal government is concerned, Alexandra Cabot died in a New York hospital from a gunshot wound and there is not one piece of physical evidence to dispute that fact."

"Where the hell is she?" Benson said.

"What kind of game are you people playing at?" Stabler said in a menacing tone.

Hammond shook his head. "Look, this isn't some spy movie. Nobody in the government can make records vanish this completely overnight. It's just not possible. Whatever your friend has gotten herself into; she's outside the reach of the federal government and the Cartel's reach as well. She's not going to be found unless she wants to be found. You were her friends. I just thought you should know."

He got up from the table. "Don't look into this. When I went to my boss, all he told me was to back off. The orders came from somewhere way up the ladder. He wasn't happy about it. But people voluntarily leave the Program all the time. There is no indication that Cabot was the victim of violence. No evidence of a crime. I was told I have real cases to work on and to stick with those," he looked away then shrugged his shoulders and turned back to them. "I'm sorry I don't have anything else for you. But I just thought you should know."

Hammond walked out of the store leaving a stunned Benson and Stabler behind to process what they had heard.


	2. Chapter One Invitation

Chapter One – Invitation

Olivia entered her apartment. It was close to ten PM and she had been working since seven AM. She saw the message light on her answering machine. Probably Tim saying that she had canceled or postponed one too many dates because of her job. She decided to deal with it tomorrow.

She wandered around the apartment turning on the AC unit and a couple of fans. New York was having one of the hottest summers on record this year. She then sat down at her computer. A quick check of her e-mail, a shower and then bed. She'd 'eaten' at the station before she left so she didn't have to worry about food until morning.

She scrolled through her in-box. She really should check her e-mail more often, she thought. Letting it build up for a couple of days just meant a huge backlog to clear out. She deleted the usual assortment of spam and briefly wondered if Munch was right and the 'filtering' software actually made it easier for the spammers to find her. One name on the list popped out at her. Olivia smiled. It had been almost a month since her last e-mail from Dawn Summers.

Ever since the Cummings case Dawn and Olivia had started a correspondence. By unspoken agreement they did not talk much about their jobs, except to mention how they kept both of them from having anything remotely resembling a social life. The e-mails were a nice touch of normality in Olivia's life. A way to remind herself that the world wasn't filled with perverts, rapists, pedophiles and other monsters.

She and Dawn had one extended exchange comparing shopping in New York with shopping in London. They had also shared a couple of lunches when Dawn had come into town to check on the New York office of Guardian Research. She opened Dawn's e-mail and saw an invitation.

A couple of Dawn's friends who worked at the Jenny Calendar Foundation in Cleveland were getting married in two weeks. Dawn wanted her to come to the wedding. As much fun as it might be, Olivia didn't want to take the time off work. She typed a quick reply saying that she would have to decline.

* * *

"Olivia," Captain Cragen leaned out of his office. "Can you step in here a moment."

"Sure thing Cap," Olivia responded. She got up from her desk and went into the Captain's office. She sat down in front of Cragen's desk.

"I think you should take a couple of days off Olivia," Cragen said. "This Bannion case has run us all ragged and you especially."

"Captain," she replied. "I'm fine. I admit I screwed up in the interrogation, but we got him."

"Olivia, how long has it been since your last vacation?" Cragen asked.

Olivia paused and started thinking.

Cragen waited a few moments. "If it takes you that long to remember, then it's been too long. You need to get out of here for a few days and remind yourself there's more to world then this."

"I did get an invitation to a wedding next week," Olivia replied.

"Perfect," Cragen said. "You're not scheduled for any court appearances and Elliot and John can handle your current case load. Go to a wedding, have a good time. Do something normal."

"Alright Captain," Olivia reluctantly gave in. "I'll e-mail my friend and tell her I can go."

"Let me know the time you'll be gone next week," Cragen said.

"No problem. I'll go tell Elliot," Olivia got up from the chair and left the office.

"So what's up," Stabler asked.

"The Cap's making me take some vacation time," Olivia replied a little annoyed.

"I hate to say it Olivia," Stabler said. "But you need some time off."

"You too," Olivia said. "I made a mistake. I admit that. I don't need to be sent to my room."

"You need some time to rest Olivia," Stabler said. "We've had a month of ugly cases and you got too close to this one. Take a couple of days, get your mind back in the game."

"I'm going to wedding," Olivia said.

"That should be fun," Stabler said. "Who's getting married?"

"I don't know," Olivia replied. "Dawn Summers invited me as her guest. A couple of her friends from the Jenny Calendar Foundation are getting married. I guess she and Buffy will be the only two people there I'll know."

"Didn't the Jenny Calendar Foundation pop up in the news last month?" Stabler asked.

"Yea, one of there employees testified at a trial in Seattle," Olivia said. "A cult case or something. Dawn said it wasn't a big deal."

"Not a big deal?" Elliot was a little shocked. "Didn't the cult kill six of its members?"

"Dawn doesn't have a lot to do with that stuff," Olivia said. "She probably gets most of the information from her sister. Whenever she mentions work, it's usually to talk about some old book she's translating or bizarre artifact they found."

"Well, tell them I said hi," Stabler said.

Just then the Captain came out of his office.

"We've got a victim. EMT's just brought her to the hospital," he said. "Elliot, John head out there and be ready to interview her when she gets out of surgery. Olivia, Fin, I want you two to secure the crime scene. I'll take care of CSU."

-----

Olivia got back to her apartment at a reasonable hour. She turned on her computer and sent an e-mail to Dawn saying the situation had changed and she could go the wedding next week. She then got up and began to prepare a quick dinner.

About forty-five minutes later the phone rang. Olivia answered. "Benson."

"Hi Olivia," came a familiar voice. "It's Dawn. I just got your e-mail. Great that you can come. The wedding is on Thursday. Can you come in on Tuesday?"

"That shouldn't be a problem," Olivia said. She did some quick calculating in her head. "Dawn, it's got to be ridiculously late there. What are you still doing up?"

"We do our best work after sunset," Dawn replied. "Don't worry about plane tickets or a hotel. We'll take care of all of that. I'll e-mail everything you need to know tomorrow. Well, today for me."

"That's really not necessary Dawn," Olivia was surprised by the generosity.

"Hey I know what a cop makes," Dawn said. "Did you hear anything in the news about the San Cristo a couple of months ago?"

"Spanish galleon," Olivia replied. "Sank a bunch of centuries ago carrying what today comes out to a couple of hundred million in gold and silver. A lot of people are going to get rich off that."

"Guardian funded the salvage team and did the research that helped locate the galleon," Dawn said. "Even splitting 50 percent with the salvage crew and turning over some of the artifacts to the British Museum, we still stand to make a tidy little profit. I expect my bonus this year to be huge. A plane ticket I can cover. Consider it my treat."

"Ok, you win," Olivia said.

"Great," Dawn said. "Like I said, I'll e-mail you everything tomorrow. Look forward to seeing you again."

"Me too," Olivia replied. "Just one thing..."

"Sorry Olivia," Dawn said. "But some stuffs going down right now. I got to go. Check your e-mail tomorrow. Bye."

"Bye," Olivia heard Dawn hang up the phone.

She set the phone down and realized Dawn still hadn't told her who was getting married.


	3. Chapter Two Always the Bridesmaid

Chapter Two - Always the Bridesmaid ...

True to her word Dawn set Olivia up with a first class round trip ticket to Cleveland for the following Tuesday. Despite a few pointed e-mails Dawn still had not told her which one of her friends was getting married.

Olivia got off the plane and made her way to the baggage claim area where Dawn said she would meet her. She was looking around when she heard a familiar voice from behind her.

"Olivia!"

Olivia turned and saw Dawn Summers coming up behind her.

"Hey Dawn," She said. "How are you doing?"

"Doing great," Dawn said. "I got into town yesterday. How was your flight?"

"This is the first time I've ever flown first class and the first time I've ever been disappointed about a short plane ride," Olivia replied. "You really didn't have to spring for a first class seat."

"I try and do well by my friends when I can," Dawn said. "How much luggage have you got?"

"I'm only staying until Friday," Olivia replied. "So I packed light."

"That doesn't help me very much," Dawn said. "Buffy's definition of 'light' usually means a minimum of five pieces of luggage."

"I packed one suitcase and garment bag for my dress," Olivia replied with a smile.

"Then I guess the SUV was overkill for picking you up," Dawn said. "No big, more room to stretch out."

"Is anyone else coming in today?" Olivia asked. "I don't mind staying here if it means saving you an extra trip to the airport later."

"The London contingent came in with me yesterday," Dawn replied. "Robin and Faith aren't flying back from Rio until tomorrow and one of the girls will pick them up. You're the only arrival today."

"So what hotel have you booked me into?" Olivia asked. "The local equivalent of the Waldorf?"

"Not quite," Dawn replied with a twinkle in her eye. "Let's get your things and head back to the Foundation."

"Fine by me," Olivia said.

After picking up the bags, Dawn led Olivia back to the SUV and the two got onto the interstate to drive to the Jenny Calendar Foundation.

After about an hour, Dawn turned off the interstate and they entered a rather nice suburb. A couple of deft turns and they were driving down a road. On one side was a park and on the other a ten foot tall red brick wall topped with a short metal railing that had rather lethal looking spikes on top. Olivia wasn't certain, but it looked like every other spike was made of wood.

Dawn turned into the entrance. A large metal gate blocked their path. Dawn brought the SUV to a stop and rolled down her window. She pulled out a card and slipped it into a security scanner and then punched in a code. The gate opened.

"Tight security for a private foundation," Olivia noted.

"Sometimes not quite tight enough," Dawn mumbled under her breath.

Olivia looked over the complex as Dawn pulled the SUV into one the parking spaces marked 'reserved.'

"This place almost looks like a high school," she said.

"Up until three and a half years ago that's what it was," Dawn said. "The building over there has the gym and pool. That one houses the library. The main building has the cafeteria and classrooms and admin offices. We're still doing renovations in some areas. We converted the classrooms on the third floor into apartments and dorms. They're actually quite comfortable. Xander out did himself. You'll be staying with Buffy and me in one of them. I hope you don't mind."

"I'm sure it will be fine," Olivia said getting out of the truck. Dawn popped open the back and was about to grab the luggage when a young girl who looked about fifteen ran up.

"I'll get those Dawn," the girl said.

"Thanks Janie," Dawn said. "But shouldn't you be in class about now?"

"Buffy's teaching," Janie replied. "Robin is coming back tomorrow right?"

"Yes he is," Dawn replied. "But not until late afternoon and you know how he and Faith are after a long plane ride. He won't be teaching classes until Friday. You've got two more days of Buffy. Now get going. I can take care of this stuff. Buffy's even harder on people when they're late. She usually picks them to be her sparring partner."

"Alright I'm gone," the girl moved off at a quick jog towards the gym.

"This place is a school?" Olivia asked. "I thought you guys monitored cults here."

"That's one of the things we do," Dawn said. "We also teach self-defense courses and other things to young women. Come on I'll take you up to our room and after you get settled in I'll show you around."

"Fine," Olivia said.

They walked into the main entrance and Olivia saw a bustle of activity. It was few seconds before she realized that most of the people were young women, ranging in ages from around fifteen to their mid to late twenties. One the women walked up to Dawn.

"Everybody knows. You've got a clear path," the girl said. "I'll tell Ms Winters you're back."

"Thanks Mags," Dawn said. "Tell her we'll be ready in about five minutes."

"Gotcha."

Olivia was starting to get suspicious. "Ok, what was that about?"

"Just a little surprise for the wedding," Dawn said with smile. "Come on," Dawn led Olivia to an elevator and took her up to the third floor. When they got out of the elevator Olivia looked around. The hallway still looked like a high school's. All that was missing were the lockers lining the walls. Dawn led her to door at the far end. The usual classroom door had been replaced with a more traditional looking door.

Dawn opened the door and led Olivia inside. Olivia had to acknowledge Dawn's comment about the rooms looking comfortable. The classroom had been partitioned. She had walked into a large seating/office/dining area. The chairs looked comfy and well worn. She saw two doors in along the partition.

"The doors lead to the bedrooms. Buffy and I are sharing that one. You have the other one all to yourself," Dawn said. "Do you want to get unpacked now?"

"I can do most of my unpacking tonight," Olivia said. "But I really should get my dress hung up. I don't want it to get too wrinkled before the wedding."

"Don't worry about that," Dawn said. The smile on her face started to get larger. "You won't be needing it. We'll fit you for your Bridesmaid dress tomorrow."

"Bridesmaid?" Olivia said in shock. "Since when did I become a bridesmaid?!?"

"Since I decided I didn't want to get married without my best friend being here," came a voice from the door.

Olivia knew that voice. It had been months, but she knew that voice. She spun around and froze.

"Alex?"


	4. Chapter Three – Jaw Dropping

Chapter Three – Jaw Dropping

"Alex?"

Olivia was stunned. It was Alex. She was standing at the door smiling like nothing had happened.

"Olivia," Alex came into the room and enveloped Olivia a hug. "It's so good to see you. You have no idea how many times I almost picked up the phone and called you."

"Alex," she hugged her friend back. "What happened? What are you doing here?"

"Like a lot of things around here, it's a long story," Alex replied. "Sit down I'll give you the highlights."

She motioned Olivia to sit down at one of chairs while she and Dawn sat down on the couch opposite her.

"How did you get here?" Olivia asked. "Hammond called Elliot and I up and told us you vanished. That all of your records had just disappeared overnight. We wanted to look for you but there was no place to start. The Feds had nothing. Everything just went poof. It's like you dropped into a black hole."

"About a month after I entered the Program, Buffy came to visit me," Alex explained. "She offered me a job. I accepted. All the reasons for Alexandra Cabot to stay dead and buried remained. So they arranged for all traces of my survival and the persona the Marshall's created for me to disappear. They set me up here with a new name, new job and new life."

"What do you do here?" Olivia said. It was a little much to take in.

"Permit me to introduce myself," Alex pulled out a business card and handed it to Olivia. "Alexandra Winters, Head of Legal Affairs for the Jenny Calendar Foundation and Legal Attaché to the ICSW."

"ICSW? Winters?"

"Officially, on the paperwork we fill out for various government bureaucracies, it's just a series of letters that don't stand for anything," Dawn answered. "Unofficially it stands for the International Council of Slayers and Watchers. I admit it lacks a punch. But after over a week of arguing about names it was a nice neutral title that we could all agree on. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff Andrew wanted to call us."

"As for Winters," Alex added. "Willow said she was in a 'seasonal mood' when she set up my new ID."

"Ok, none of that really helped," Olivia said. "Slayers, Watchers? How does a private foundation get the resources to make government records disappear?"

"And we get to reason why I was able to resist calling you," Alex said. "Explaining this place is challenging. They did it with magic."

"And some really slick hacking from Willow," Dawn added.

"Magic?" Olivia said. "You expect me to believe that."

"Magic's real Olivia," Alex said. "I had a hard time believing it myself at first. It will be easier if I show you," she looked over at Dawn. "There are classes going on right?"

"Yea," Dawn said. "Buffy's teaching since Robin is setting up the training facilities in Rio. Janie was running late. That probably means Buffy is putting on a pretty good show."

"Perfect," Alex said. "Olivia if you'll follow us, we'll take you down to the gym. Believe me, you will not believe what you are about to see."

"How is seeing a self defense class going to explain any of this?" Olivia said.

"Trust me," Dawn said. "You've never seen a 'self defense' class the way Buffy teaches one."

Olivia found herself being reluctantly led back downstairs and then outside where they walked over to the gym. When they entered the main gymnasium Dawn brought the group to a stop a few feet off to the side of the entrance. There was a large area of floor covered with mats. Buffy was standing in the center wearing workout clothes and, Olivia noticed, padded gloves and padded shoes. Five teenage girls who looked between fourteen and sixteen all wearing outfits like Buffy's surrounded her. Seated outside the mat were nine other teenage girls who were watching the events inside with rapt attention.

Olivia had to blink when one of the girls moved to attack Buffy. Olivia had never seen anyone move so fast. That is until she didn't see Buffy's counterattack. All that registered to her eyes was a blur. One second the girl was advancing on Buffy the same second she was flying through the air and then landing on the ground ten feet away. She popped up like nothing happened and charged back into the fray.

Olivia would have been hard pressed to describe anything she saw. All five girls seemed to be attacking Buffy at once. They were incredibly fast. Inhumanly fast. Except when compared to Buffy. She was just a blur. Olivia's felt her jaw drop open. She couldn't spare the brainpower to close it again.

Buffy moved and danced around her five attackers with seeming ease. Her movements were incredibly complex and yet graceful. At one point Olivia swore she saw Buffy do a standing back flip that that went at least seven feet into the air. She landed behind two of the girls who promptly did some involuntary flying themselves.

Olivia looked over at Dawn and Alex. Dawn smiled at her. "This is nothing. You see it when they're doing weapons training. Besides these are the newbies. Buffy's holding back. Maybe we'll arrange a sparing match between her and Faith. Those are fun to watch. Everybody with even a little free time shows up."

Olivia turned her eyes back to the mat. She saw two more girls go flying away from Buffy. That was 'holding back?'

After what seemed like an eternity but was in reality only about five minutes Buffy brought the sparing session to a close. She wasn't even breathing hard. Buffy bowed to the girls then looked over at the group standing just inside the door. She smiled at them.

"Alright girls," Buffy said. "I want you to spread out and work on your Katas for the rest of class."

Olivia heard groans from a couple of the girls.

"Enough of that," Buffy snapped. "Strength and speed don't mean anything without control. Power is useless if you don't know how to wield it. The Kata will help you focus. Help you learn how to control your power. Remember it's not about getting through the movements quickly. It's about getting through them precisely. About training your mind, body and spirit to work together. I want you all to focus inward. Focus on the source of your of power. Not just the Slayer. But your soul. Feel how your body moves. Feel how the power flows through it," she nodded. "Alright class, form up."

The girls all quickly spread out on the mat and began going through their Katas. Buffy watched them for a while walking among the girls and occasionally pointing out errors in their form. Making some of the girls who had started to accelerate into blurs of motion slow down. After a couple of minutes Buffy seemed satisfied that all the girls were doing things correctly. She turned her attention back to the group at the door.

She walked over, smiled and held out her hand. "Detective Benson. Nice to see you again."

Olivia had finally managed to shift enough attention to her mouth to get her jaw closed again. She stared at Buffy for a second.

"What the hell are you?" Olivia said.

Buffy smirked, "You two brought her in here completely cold. That's mean."

"Giles is still tied up downtown and won't be back until dinner," Dawn said. "He explains it much better than I do. He's also got that whole British thing going for him. He actually makes it sound plausible. Olivia wasn't buying the 'magic real' speech. Seeing you in action makes it a lot easier to explain."

"Explain what?" Olivia asked. Way to many shocks were hitting her today. "I've never seen anything like that. Nobody can move like that."

"Just call me Ms Nobody," Buffy smiled. "I'm sorry. Somebody was supposed to give you at least the cliff notes version before you saw something like this. I'm a Slayer."

"Alex, do you have anything that makes more sense than that?" Olivia turned to her friend.

"Go ahead Alex, you've heard the spiel enough by now," Dawn said.

Alex shrugged her shoulders. "A Slayer is a mystical warrior gifted with enhanced strength, speed and senses. She has the power to fight the Vampires and the Demons."

Olivia looked at the three of them. They certainly looked serious. Vampires? Mystical warriors? But she could not think of anything else that explained what she saw Buffy and those other girls do.

"You actually expect me to believe this?" Olivia said. "Magic's real. Buffy fights vampires. Do have any idea how insane that sounds?"

"Believe me," Buffy said. "I know exactly how insane it sounds. Shannon!"

A young woman popped her head through the door. "Yea Buffy."

"Watch the class for me," Buffy said. "They're doing Kata practice for the rest of the period."

"No problem," Shannon replied. She promptly jogged over the class and began wandering between the girls pointing out flaws in their form.

Buffy turned her attention back to Olivia. Olivia took a step back. She was feeling something from Buffy. She remembered feeling something similar from the last time they met. But that time it had been directed at Alan Cummings. This time it was directed at her. It was power. Buffy's eyes had changed. She looked like a predator. A warrior. The feeling vanished. Olivia had to shake her head again.

"That was the Slayer," Buffy said.


	5. Chapter Four Meeting Someone New

Chapter Four – Meeting Someone New

Olivia was sitting back in her chair in Buffy and Dawn's room. Buffy, Dawn and Alex had been spending the past few minutes explaining about Slayers and Demons. She wasn't certain what to think. Either the world was far stranger than she ever believed or her friend had somehow gotten herself hired as legal advisor to a bunch of lunatics.

But she couldn't think of any other explanation for what she saw and felt in the gym. She'd seen people strung out on PCP and all other manner of drugs. None of them could move as fast and with as much grace as those girls displayed. And she'd never seen anything like Buffy outside of a movie. Then Buffy had projected the Slayer at her. She had never felt anything remotely similar in her life.

"I'm sorry to hit you with all this at once Olivia," Alex said.

"Why now?" Olivia said. "You've been missing for almost ten months."

"I told you," Alex said. "I didn't want to get married without you here. My finance was rather insistent about that. Said he was tired of me moping around about missing my friends and told me to invite you."

"So who is this guy?"

"Actually, you've met him," Alex replied.

"I have?"

"Xander Harris," Alex said. "You and Elliot interviewed him at Guardian's New York office."

"The eye patch guy?" Olivia said. She remembered the man from her interview.

Alex smiled. "That's the one. I met him the second day I was here. We didn't start dating until after New Years. He proposed three weeks ago."

"Short engagement," Olivia said.

"I know," Alex replied. "But this just feels right. Neither of us wants a big huge complicated ceremony. We want something small that we can share with our friends. That why he insisted we get you here."

"It's lucky you changed your mind about coming," Dawn said. "Another day and we would have been forced to go with plan B."

"Plan B?" Olivia said.

Buffy cut in. "No need to discuss that. It wasn't necessary."

"Why do I have the feeling there's story there," Olivia said suspiciously.

"Let's just say Plan B would have left little doubt in your mind about the existence of magic and leave it at that," Dawn said.

"Xander really wanted to be here when you arrived," Alex said. "But he's downtown right now dealing with the zoning board and getting permits to do the renovations to the second floor."

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Dawn said.

"Wait ..." Buffy started.

But the door had already opened. Olivia turned to see who was there. She was on her feet in a second and instinctively reaching for where her gun would normally be.

"Ms Winters."

"What is it Clem?" Alex said. "I thought I said I didn't want to be disturbed."

Olivia was still staring. This was just one shock too many. 'Clem' looked over at her.

"Oh, you must be Olivia," Clem said. "Ms Winters has told me a lot about you," he reached out to shake Olivia's hand.

"What are you?" Olivia said, taking another step back.

"She hasn't quite processed everything Clem," Dawn said.

"I understand," Clem lowered his hand. He looked down at the floor and started shuffling his feet. It looked like someone had hurt his feelings.

"I'm, uh, sorry. Uh. Clem is it?" Olivia wasn't quite sure what to say. "What are you?"

"I'm Clem," he replied. "I work here part time as a gopher."

"You work here?" Olivia said. Her brain still hadn't quite caught up to events.

"Yea," he said. "Mostly in Ms Winters department. I help get stuff from the library, fetch coffee for people, deliver messages and do other stuff. Ms Winters is pretty tough, but she's been a good boss."

"Speaking of your job Clem," Alex said. "Why did you come up here?"

"Oh, sorry, forgot," Clem said embarrassed. "Tessa called. She said they found where the bodies are buried but they still need a way to lead the police to them so they can nail DeCastro."

"Call her back and tell her to e-mail everything she knows about the location," Alex said. "I'll try and get something too them by tomorrow morning. DeCastro can't summon another demon until next week, so we've got time."

"Gotcha," Clem said. "Nice meeting you Olivia. Hope you stay around for the wedding," Clem waved and then left.

"And that was Clem," Buffy said. "I sensed him outside. I should have told him to stay there. Sorry about that."

"No problem," Olivia said. Ok her friend wasn't a lunatic. Although she was no longer certain about herself. She felt her hands start to shake.

Alex got up from the couch and helped Olivia sit down again.

"Feeling Ok?" Alex asked. "Buffy explained it all to me before I got here. But I wasn't real until I saw my first actual demon."

"I'm really don't know how I feel," Olivia said. "This is all real. You aren't just a bunch lunatics."

"There are a lot of people that would dispute our sanity," Dawn said. "But this is all real."

"What are you doing here Alex?" Olivia stared at her friend. "Why would these people need an ex-ADA?"

"Actually this thing with DeCastro is a perfect example of why they hired me," Alex said. "Brian DeCastro is murderer. But he uses magic to kill people. The police can't do anything to link the crime back to him. Which means they can't touch him legally."

Olivia looked at Buffy. "So one of your Slayers would go out and kill him."

"No," Buffy said forcefully. "Slayers are not killers. Generally speaking we avoid stuff that deals with humans and stick to demons. And even there, as you've seen with Clem, we don't just randomly kill. Slayers exist to protect life. Not take it. Yes, we can kill if we have too, to protect another life. But it's not something that any Slayer takes well. Even when it's justified."

"But there are still humans out there killing people with magic," Alex said. "They need to be stopped and the police don't have the resources to do it. So they hired me to help them come up with ways to stop people like that legally."

"And how do you do that?" Olivia asked.

"DeCastro's killed nine people over the past year," Dawn explained. "The problem is he's had air tight alibis for each murder. The police are certain he's behind them, because everyone whose been killed is either been a business rival or someone DeCastro had a grudge against. They figure he hired someone to do the job. But they can't find any evidence to prove it. No money trail, no phone records, nothing. And they won't."

"Why not?" Olivia asked.

"Because he's using demons to commit the murders," Alex said.

"Specifically he's using Emoately Demons," Dawn said. "They live in a parallel dimension. At specific points in time DeCastro can summon one to appear at a location of his choosing and kill his intended target. The demon then pops back into it's home dimension and the police are left with nothing. All the while DeCastro's at some party with the town mayor or some other prominent citizen smiling away in front of dozens of unimpeachable witnesses. Following us so far?"

"Not really," Olivia said. "But go ahead and continue."

"Here's the thing," Dawn said. "We can't get him for these murders. But we might be able to help the police nail for the other murders he committed. In order to gain the power to summon Emoately demons, DeCastro had to sacrifice three lives. And in order to maintain the link, he had to leave something of himself with each body. Usually a tuft of hair and some blood."

"When Andre presented that to me I told the Slayers Buffy had sent to investigate the murders to find those three victims,"Alex said. "If we can lead to police to them, in a way that's legal and doesn't trample on DeCastro's civil rights, then the police can arrest him for those murders. We won't get justice for his current victims, but DeCastro will still spend the rest of his life in jail."

"As an added bonus, as soon as the bodies are uncovered and the linking items removed, DeCastro can't summon anymore demons," Dawn explained.

"And you do this all the time?" Olivia looked at her friend.

"Pretty much," Alex replied. "Most of time its not as cut and dried as this situation," she looked over at Buffy. "We've had a lot of fights about how best to deal with some situations. Although I can honestly say I haven't had that many dull days here."

"I need to sit down," Olivia said.

"You are sitting down," Buffy said.

"Then maybe I need to lie down."

Alex smiled. "I am sorry to do this to you Olivia. I've been here for almost a year now and there are still days when it gets overwhelming."

"I've been doing this for thirteen years," Buffy said. "And I still get surprised."

Thirteen years, Olivia thought. Buffy said she was called when she was fifteen. What kind of universe throws a fifteen-year-old girl into this?

"The next time Captain Cragen tells me to go do something normal I'm going to shoot him."


	6. Chapter Five The Eye Patch Guy

Chapter Five – The Eye Patch Guy

Olivia was lying on bed in the room Dawn had set aside for her. She was staring at the ceiling.

Ok, she thought, magic is real, demons are real, there are super powered women called Slayers that fight demons and Alex now works for them as a legal advisor. She was never taking a vacation again. She heard a knock on the door.

"Olivia?" it was Alex.

"Come in," Olivia said.

Alex opened the door and walked in. She smiled at her friend and then sat down in the chair in the corner.

"If it helps, I think I spent three days just staring at the wall when I first got here," Alex said.

"It's a lot to wrap my head around," Olivia said. Olivia sat up in the bed and looked at Alex. "So you're getting married."

"Yes I am," Alex replied.

"So Xander. What is he? A reincarnation of one the Knights of the Round Table, some kind of super-powered cyclops?" Olivia asked.

Alex let out a chuckle. "Xander is just a normal guy."

"A normal guy," Olivia said. "In a place like this."

"Which is just one of things that makes him special," Alex said. "He met Buffy in high school when he was fifteen. Learned about the Slayer thing. He's been part of the Scoobies ever since."

"I have a hard time dealing with the idea that people who literally run around saving the world from demons choose to name themselves after a cartoon dog," Olivia said.

"Which is one the reasons so many people, as Dawn said, dispute their sanity," Alex answered.

"So how did you and Xander start dating?" Olivia asked.

"Xander is the Facilities Manager," Alex explained. "So when I started setting up the office, he worked pretty hard to make sure I had everything I needed. I know how incredibly clichéd this is going to sound, but he has the ability to make people laugh. To lighten up even the darkest moments."

Alex paused and smiled. "The first couple of months I was here, we were just friends. Then I started learning the history, hearing all the old stories from the 'good-old-days' back in Sunnydale. Around New Years I had a bit of a revelation. One thing stuck out to me. Everyone had a moment, some more than one, where they tried to walk away from all this. Buffy, Willow, Giles at one point or another it became too much for them and they had no choice but to leave for awhile."

"But not Xander," Olivia said.

"Not Xander," Alex replied. "Seven years on the Hellmouth, just an ordinary guy and he stuck it out the whole way. He could have walked away after Sunnydale. He didn't. He spent a year traveling around Africa, the Middle East and Asia, tracking down newly called Slayers. Then he came to Cleveland to help set up the Jenny Calendar Foundation. The moment that became clear to me I decided I wanted to learn more about Xander Harris. So I asked him out on date."

"And that's when it started," Olivia said.

"That's when he said no," Alex smiled. "So I went to Buffy and got The History."

"The History?" Olivia could here the capital letters.

"Xander has had a colorful dating career to say the least," Alex smiled. "Growing up on a Hellmouth has a few disadvantages. Most of it can be written off as normal teenage stupidity."

"Most," Olivia noted. "What did he do?"

"I'll let Xander fill you in on the history," Alex said. "Suffice to say he's made a couple of very big mistakes in his life. I'm not going into this blind Olivia. Xander's friends made sure of that. Every one of them has sat me down and had The Talk," Alex smiled again. Olivia was having a hard time remembering when she had ever seen Alex smile so much in the almost five years they had worked together.

Alex picked up the story again, "Anyway. After Buffy told me some of things that happened, I became more determined then ever to figure out what makes this guy tick."

"I've seen you when you get determined," Olivia said. "Xander never stood a chance did he?"

"No, he didn't," Alex replied. "It took two weeks, but I got him to go out with me. It was a typically disastrous first date. Spilled drinks, awkward conversation, amazingly enough no demon attacks, which as I understand it is a rarity for the Scoobies. That awkwardness is actually what made it work. We had a great time. Things just kept going from there."

"And then he asked you marry him," Olivia said.

"Three weeks ago," Alex noted. "I'm still surprised I said yes. I really do love him Olivia. He is an amazing man."

"So when do I get to meet him for real?" Olivia asked.

"Actually, right about now," Alex answered. "He just back from the zoning board. We're taking you out to dinner."

"I need to change," Olivia said.

"Don't worry about it," Alex made a waving motion with her hand. "The place is casual. They do a great Chicken Picata."

-----

A few minutes later the two stepped out of the elevator and walked to the lobby. Olivia spotted Xander with ease. He was the only guy wearing an eye patch. He had on suit, but he had removed the jacket and tie. He was talking with Buffy and an older gentleman in a tweed suit. Olivia overheard the conversation.

"I hate dressing up for those things," Xander said.

"I still fail to see why you insisted I should accompany you," an older man standing next to Xander said. Olivia noted the British accent.

"Because you're dignified Giles," Xander replied. "It's a lot harder for people to say no to you."

"None of you ever had any problems saying no to me," Giles replied.

"That's because we're immune to dignity," Xander said.

"Truer words have rarely been spoken," came the retort.

"Ah, look here. My soon to be better half has arrived," Xander turned his attention to the approaching women.

"So Xandra, how has your afternoon been?" Xander asked.

"I've been reacquainting myself with an old friend," Alex replied. "And how have you been doing Alex."

The two exchanged a quick kiss.

Olivia watched Buffy roll her eyes. "Would you two please stop doing that? It was cute for the first month, now it's just getting annoying."

"Doing what?" Xander said in a perfectly innocent voice.

Despite herself Olivia found herself smiling.

Buffy shook her head. "Feeling better Olivia?" she asked.

"Staring at the ceiling has been very helpful," Olivia replied.

"Detective Benson," Xander said. "It is truly a pleasure to see you again."

"Thank you," Olivia replied. "Please its just Olivia."

"Permit me to introduce the dignified head of our merry little band," Xander turned and raised his hand with a flourish, "Dr. Rupert Giles."

Giles held out his hand, "Detective Benson a pleasure."

Olivia shook his hand, "Dr. Giles nice to meet you. And again, just Olivia is fine."

"You may call me Giles," Giles replied. "Everyone else does."

"So where are you two planning on taking Olivia?" Buffy asked.

"Antoine's," Alex replied.

"Ah yes, the famed chicken picata," Buffy nodded. "Good choice."

"Xandra does have excellent taste in restaurants," Xander said.

"That's because I use to live in New York Alex," Alex replied.

"I told you two to stop that," Buffy said.

"What's with the names?" Olivia asked.

"It's a formally cute little thing they do," Buffy replied. "The only person in the entire building who can get away with calling Alex Xandra is Xander. Likewise the only person who can get away with calling Xander Alex is Alex. Like I said, it use to be cute, now I think they do it just to annoy me."

"Buffy, when have I ever done anything just to annoy someone?" Xander said in mock indignation.

Both and Giles gave Xander rather pointed looks.

"Ok," Xander said. "When have I ever done anything to annoy people recently?"

The looks became even more pointed.

"Ladies," Xander turned back to Olivia and Alex. "I believe its time we left for dinner. If you'll both accompany me to the car."


	7. Chapter Six The Chicken Picata

Chapter Six – The Chicken Picata

Olivia was actually enjoying dinner. It was obvious that Alex and Xander came here often. The staff greeted them warmly and the owner had even come out to offer his congratulations on the wedding. He gave them a small private room. And the chicken picata was excellent.

They spent the first part of the evening catching Alex up on the happenings in New York. Olivia was both surprised and pleased to find out Alex had kept track of a lot of the SVU cases.

"So how is my replacement working out?" Alex asked.

"Novak got off to a shaky start," Olivia said. "She wasn't ready for what we deal with."

"Nobody is ever ready for what you deal with," Alex responded. "I take it she's getting better."

"Yea," Olivia said. "She's finding her way through."

"Good," Alex said.

Olivia decided to shift the topic to Xander. She wanted to learn more about Alex's fiancé.

"So what exactly do you do here Xander?" Olivia asked.

Xander answered. "Officially I'm the Facilities Manager for the Jenny Calendar Foundation. In practical terms that means I specialize in the care and feeding of Slayers and Watchers."

"'The care and feeding of Slayers and Watchers,'" Olivia said. "An interesting take on the job."

"My job is too make they have what they need to do their job," Xander said. "A place to rest, a place to train, a place to eat, a place to store their weapons and dusty old books and anything else they need to get the job done."

"So you keep up the facilities here in Cleveland," Olivia said.

"Actually the Foundation has offices in six locations," Xander said. "I'm responsible for all of them. In addition to the main office here in Cleveland, we have a small LA office. That one is responsible for monitoring the remnants of the Sunnydale Hellmouth and dealing with anything that pops up on the west coast. We have a office in Brazil, one in Germany, one in Indonesia and our newest office in Taipei."

"Taipei?" Olivia said. "If I remember correctly the others all sound like they're located at active Hellmouths. Is there a Hellmouth in Taiwan?"

"No," Xander said. "We opened the office as a way to deal with some of the problems we have with Indonesia. That office is so isolated that it's almost impossible to move teams in and out quickly. Whenever anything supernatural went down elsewhere in Asia it was actually easier to dispatch a team from the LA office. So we decided to open an office in a more central location. It takes some of the pressure off the Slayers in Indonesia."

"Xander has some rather odd site requirements for locating new offices," Alex said.

"Like what?" Olivia asked.

"Well, one the primary criteria for the location of all our offices is easy walking distance to a donut shop or the local cuisine equivalent," Xander smiled.

"You're kidding."

"It's the little things that matter," Xander said. "You'd be surprised how critical a role donuts have played in saving the world. I rejected two possible sites for Guardian's New York office because of they were too far away from sugary goodness."

Olivia smiled. "When is your family coming in for the wedding?"

"My family's already here," Xander said. "Buffy, Willow and Giles have been my family since I was fifteen. Far more than the people who are related to me ever were."

"Not a happy home life," Olivia recognized the bitterness in Xander's voice.

"My parents have a better relationship with a bottle than they do with each other or me," Xander said. "Jesse and Willow are probably the only reason I stayed sane growing up."

"I've heard about Willow," Olivia said. "But who's Jesse."

"Jesse was my best friend," Xander explained. "He was killed by vampires when I was fifteen."

"And you've been fighting vampires ever since."

"Yep," Xander replied. "Well a lot of time lying on the floor watching Buffy fight vampires."

"So why stay?" Olivia asked.

Xander paused and thought. "Buffy, Willow, Giles, even Dawn. They don't have much of choice."

"But you have a choice," Olivia said.

"Walking away from my friends is not a choice," Xander said. "You haven't really seen the price the others have paid to be here. Like I said my job is to make it possible for them to do their job. Carry some of the burden so they can deal with the big stuff. Besides, you're job isn't wine and roses detective. You deal with humanity at its absolute worst. Why do you stay?"

Olivia was forced to pause this time. She'd spent most of the afternoon trying to figure out how anyone could deal with the supernatural she had forgotten her job could be just as ugly. She looked at Xander.

"Somebody has to do it," Olivia replied. "Somebody has to speak for the victims. To find justice."

"It's the same thing for me Olivia," Xander said. "Somebody has to do it. I'm here, I know the score, so I do it."

Olivia nodded in understanding. She shifted her attention back to Alex.

"So aside from this DeCastro case, what other kind of things are you responsible for Alex?" Olivia asked.

"I usually get called in on any case that involves humans," Alex replied. "I also advise on how to deal with law enforcement agencies. Actually the strangest thing I've found myself doing was a couple of months ago. I spent a week helping a local attorney negotiate a deal with the DA so his client could plead not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. The DA was planning on prosecuting him on six counts of murder. We got him into a hospital instead of jail."

"You were helping murderer?" Olivia said. "With an insanity defense? I find that hard to believe."

"He was possessed for nearly three months," Alex explained. "The demon made him kill. He actually retained enough control to leave clues behind that led us to him. We figured out what happened to him and freed him from the possession. The police found him too. They had a solid case."

"But he wasn't responsible for his actions," Olivia said. "So you helped find a way to get him off."

"He summoned the demon and didn't understand the consequences of playing with that kind of power. I found a way to get him into a hospital," Alex sighed. "From what Andre found out, the possession did a lot of damage to his mind. He'll never be the same again. It's unlikely he'll ever be able to function in society. But he deserves to at least a chance to get better. In a hospital he has that chance. In a prison he wouldn't have. It's not a happy ending but it was the best we could do."

"Sounds like a lot of the SVU cases," Olivia observed.

"It can be just that frustrating at times," Alex said. "But Buffy has given me a lot of room to do my job. More than I had in New York. We also end up dealing with situations like the Cummings case."

"You mean, wannabes, I think Buffy called him?" Olivia said.

"We usually try to handle those types of things the same way Buffy and Dawn ended up handling the Cummings case," Alex explained. "Provide the local police with information and support to find and prosecute the bad guys."

"Like in Seattle?" Olivia recalling the case she and Elliot had talked about the previous week.

"Seattle was more public than any of us prefer," Alex said. "But Will made a far better expert witness then anybody the DA had available to him. His testimony helped put, what was he calling himself again?"

"Some unpronounceable name," Xander answered.

"Anyway, it helped put the cult leader away," Alex finished. "In those type of situations we usually just send a Watcher in to help. The Slayers already have enough to deal with."

"Just how many Slayers are there?" Olivia asked.

"Too many and not enough," Xander answered.

"Only the senior members of the Council know that information," Alex explained. "They haven't even told me."

"It's not personal Alex," Xander said.

"I know," Alex replied. "You've explained your reasons. I even agree with them. Besides there isn't really a reason for me to know."

"After the wedding, we'll see about making you a full Scooby," Xander said.

"Xander I'm not doing the...."

"No, no. We don't discuss our initiation rituals in front of outsiders," Xander smiled.

"Initiation rituals?" Olivia asked.

"Blackmail material," Alex said. "You really shouldn't have shown me Faith's tape."

"You have to admit it was funny," Xander said.

"Yes it was funny," Alex responded. "But there is no way you're making me do that."

"You underestimate my powers of persuasion," Xander smiled.

"Really," Alex replied.

"You did agree to marry me," Xander noted.

"That's because I love you," Alex said. She leaned in to give him a quick kiss, "Not because you're persuasive."

Olivia smiled at the exchanged and took a bite of her chicken picata.


	8. Chapter Seven The Price of Magic

Chapter Seven – The Price of Magic

Olivia was driving back to the Foundation with Xander and Alex. She was in the back seat watching Xander drive. Xander glimpsed at her in the rear view mirror.

"Relax Olivia," Xander said. "The DMV makes me take a test every year to prove I can still drive. I took the last one about two months ago. Passed with flying colors."

"Sorry," Olivia said. "I didn't mean to stare."

"You haven't asked the question yet," Xander said.

"What question?" Olivia replied.

"How I lost my eye," Xander said. "People either ask immediately or they choose to ignore it."

"Ok," Olivia said. "How did you lose your eye?"

"Homicidal preacher gouged it out," Xander answered. "It happened a couple of days before Sunnydale went boom."

"Buffy and Dawn gave me a short version of what happened," Olivia said. "Evil thing wanted to overrun the world. You guys sealed the Hellmouth to stop it."

"That's the abbreviated short version," Xander said. "It was a bad few months."

"Losing your eye," Olivia said. "I understand."

"I got off easy," Xander said. "A lot good people didn't make it out at all."

Alex reached over and started rubbing Xander's shoulder. "You guys did the best you could," she said.

"We never would have needed to if we hadn't screwed things up so bad to begin with," Xander said.

"What happened?" Olivia asked. Xander had suddenly gotten very quiet.

"One thing you need to remember Olivia," Xander said. "Magic comes with a price. Something we should have remembered. Something we forgot. More precisely we didn't care. We did something very stupid and a lot of people paid the price. Losing an eye. That's nothing."

"You changed the world Xander," Alex said. "And you're building something better than was here before."

"We're trying," Xander said. "We broke it. We need to fix it."

They car turned unto the street for the Foundation. Olivia saw the entrance up front. Two vans pulled out followed by the SUV Dawn had picked her up in at the airport.

"Evening patrol is going out," Xander said.

"Those girls I saw this afternoon are going out to fight vampires?" Olivia said.

"Probably not," Alex answered. "They're here for training. One or two of them might be working with some of the older Slayers tonight."

"We try to minimize the Slayers under eighteen doing that much patrolling or fighting," Xander explained.

"But they do some," Olivia said.

"There isn't much choice," Xander replied. "Slayers are born warriors. They can sense the demons and are naturally drawn to them. Trying to contain one is like trying to box up a tornado. None of likes it Olivia. Buffy started patrolling alone when she was fifteen. Now days the girls go out supported by experienced Slayers and they all have extended training before they face their first real demon."

"But they're still kids," Olivia said. "How can you put them in danger?"

"I told you," Xander said. "They'll go out anyway. A Slayer is drawn to demons. That's what they hunt. Trying to stop them isn't an option. We're not talking about ordinary girls Olivia. One of them could crush your skull with a single punch. I would love to give each of those girls a normal life. The life they should have had. But that's just not going to happen. The power comes with price. The price is the loss of a normal life. So we do what we can to make their lives easier, to prepare them as much as possible."

Olivia had to blink. She hadn't thought about it in those terms. She remembered the sparing session she watched that afternoon. She remembered the way the girls moved. She also remembered the feeling she got from Buffy. She felt like a predator.

"It just doesn't seem fair," Olivia said. The car came to a stop at the Foundation's entrance. Xander lowered his window to deal with the security system.

"It's not," Alex replied. "But you've been in the SVU long enough to know the world isn't fair. The Slayers were created at a time when most people didn't live to see their thirtieth birthday. When girls were considered adults as soon as they could have children."

The car came to a stop in one of the parking spaces. The three got out.

"Come on," Alex said. "We'll walk you back to your room. You've got a lot to think about."

----

A few minutes later the three entered the apartment Olivia was sharing with Dawn and Buffy.

"Hey guys," Dawn said looking up from her computer. "How was dinner?"

"It was fine," Olivia answered. "Where's Buffy?"

"Out on patrol," Dawn answered. "She won't be back until around 2 or 3 AM."

"Doesn't leave a lot of time for sleep," Olivia noted.

"Slayers can usually get by with only a couple of hours sleep a day," Dawn said.

Yet another reminder that Slayers are not normal people, Olivia thought. She shook her head.

"So what are you working on?" Olivia asked.

"Just reviewing the e-mail from Indonesia and Taipei," Dawn answered. "It's almost morning there. Checking if anything big came up overnight."

"Are you going to be ok here with Dawn Olivia?" Alex asked. "I've got an early day tomorrow. I need to make sure the office is in order before Xander and I disappear for a couple of days."

"That's fine Alex," Olivia replied. "I really need to get some sleep."

"Feel free to call me tonight if you need to talk," Alex said.

"Just make sure the phone rings quietly," Xander said. "I need my beauty sleep."

Olivia smiled. "I'll be fine Alex," she said. "You two go home."

"Ok," Alex said, giving her friend a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Xander shook her hand. "Thank you for wonderful evening Olivia."

After Xander and Alex left Dawn turned off her computer and looked at Olivia.

"You're still in the deer the headlights mode," Dawn said.

"Excuse me."

"You accept the supernatural stuff is real," Dawn explained. "But you have no idea what to do about it, so you're frozen in place just staring at it."

Olivia sat down on one of the chairs. "I just can't wrap my head around it yet. The world should not work like this."

"They universe didn't consult us before setting itself up," Dawn replied. "We deal with it as best we can. What's that old phrase again? Lord grant me the strength to change what I can, the patience to accept what cannot be changed and the wisdom to know the difference."

"So that's how you guys work," Olivia said.

"Well, we have strength. Not as much as we'd like. And not as much as need. Come to think of it our patience and wisdom are very debatable too," Dawn answered.

"Good to know one's limitations," Olivia said. "One question. As we were driving back, Xander talked like you guys were responsible for what happened to make the First arise at Sunnydale. Something about magic always having a price."

Dawn paused and got a strange look on her face. "Yea, magic always comes with a price. And the harder you try and avoid paying it, the higher it gets. That's something we've been reminded of rather harshly over the last few months."

"What happened in Sunnydale?" Olivia asked.

"You really don't need the whole story," Dawn said. She paused again then took a breath. "Xander, Willow, Tara and Anya tried to fix something that wasn't broken. In the process they broke something else."

"And that something else gave the First it's opening," Olivia said.

"In a manner of speaking yes," Dawn answered. "It's a lot more complicated than that."

"Why didn't Buffy stop them?" Olivia asked. She watched Dawn sort of freeze.

"Let's just say she couldn't at the time," Dawn said. "That was the problem the others were trying to fix."

"I don't understand," Olivia replied.

"You don't want to," Dawn said. "Just leave it at magic has a price."

"Sounds like a lot of painful memories," Olivia observed. "It helps to talk to someone."

"It's been a long time," Dawn replied. "The pain will always be there. But it's manageable. I have my work and I have a lot of people to talk to. Trust me Olivia, there are some parts of our world you don't want to know anything about."

Olivia spent a few seconds studying Dawn. "Fine," she said. "I'll drop it."

"Olivia."

"Yes."

"I know you're not going to drop this. Just do me one favor," Dawn said.

"What?"

"Don't ask Buffy about why she didn't stop them. If you're very unlucky she might actually tell you."

"Magic has a price," Olivia said.

"You don't know the half of it."


	9. Chapter Eight The Ten Cent Tour

Chapter Eight – The Ten Cent Tour

"Good morning sleepy head," Buffy said as Olivia came out of her room.

"What time did you get in last night?" Olivia asked

"About 3:30," Buffy answered

"Buffy, its 7:30 in the morning," Olivia noted. "Your already up showered and dressed. Dawn said you didn't need that much sleep, but this is ridiculous."

Buffy smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "Give me two solid hours a night and a couple of power naps in the afternoon and I'm good to go all day," she said. "Dawn's out at the library checking in with London. She's got a couple of projects she needs to keep track of. Alex will be tied up in meetings most of the morning. So you're stuck with me as tour guide."

"Don't you have things to do?" Olivia asked.

"Andre and Mags are teaching the newbies how to ID different types of demons this morning," Buffy said. "Shannon will cover the afternoon PT and sparing sessions. I also cleared my schedule of big stuff this week. Get dressed, I'll take you down to the cafeteria to grab something to eat and then give you the ten cent tour."

About a half hour later Buffy was leading Olivia through the first floor. They entered the cafeteria. It looked like a typical high school cafeteria. Along the far wall was a buffet table with fruit, pastries, coffee and other assorted items. A few people were already there getting breakfast and talking. Olivia took note that most of them were young women. Probably all Slayers.

Olivia grabbed a plate and got some fruit, a muffin and a cup of coffee. Buffy grabbed a couple of bananas, a danish and a glass of juice. The two sat down at an open table.

Olivia debated asking Buffy about what she and Dawn had talked about the night before. She remembered the look on Dawn's face when she asked her not to talk with Buffy. She also reminded herself that she wasn't here on a case. She was here on vacation. So she put aside her curiosity for the moment and traded small talk with Buffy.

After breakfast Buffy started Olivia on the tour. The two took the stairs to the second floor.

"The third floor is living space," Buffy said. "Xander converted eight of the classrooms into two bedroom apartments complete with their own bathrooms. The other rooms have been converted into dorms for four to six people. A couple are just lounge areas. He also expanded the bathrooms to include showers. It's very good set up for when a lot of girls come in for training."

"Does anybody live on campus?" Olivia asked.

"I do," Buffy said. "I've spent at least six months a year on the road for last four years. I just haven't had time to find a place of my own."

"That's got to be tough," Olivia said.

"I get by," Buffy waved off the comment. "It's good to have stuff to do."

The two arrived on the second floor. Olivia saw Xander at the far end of the hall talking with Giles and a redheaded young woman. Buffy steered her towards the them.

Olivia got close enough to hear the conversation.

"The four classrooms on this end of the floor will be combined," Xander was saying. "We'll take out the walls between the rooms and then add a wall. So the hallway will end here," he motioned with his hands across the floor. "That area gets changed to a workout room. We'll need to renovate the classroom over there into a shower area with lockers."

"That's fine Xander," the redhead said. "But what about my stuff."

"The rest of the floor goes to the magic school," Xander said. "The old science classrooms are at the other end of the building. It won't a problem to re-arrange the layout a bit to fit your needs. We'll need to add direct access to the basement storage area, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"Great," the redhead said. "Goddess this is going to be so cool when it's done."

"You said it Willow," Xander said. "It's been three and half years. This is the last big project to do and the this place will finally be almost all the way ready for the next renovation."

Willow rolled her eyes. She turned her attention to the approaching duo. "Hey Buffy," she said. "I assume you're Olivia."

"Yes I am," Olivia replied shaking Willow's hand. "I take it you're Willow. I think that means I've met all the Scoobies."

"Not quite," Xander said. "Faith won't be back until this afternoon."

"A pleasure to see you this morning Olivia," Giles said.

"Thank you Giles. So, magic school," Olivia said.

"We don't have that many trained practitioners," Willow said. "And we train most of them in England. Its better for them to learn away from the bad vides of a Hellmouth. But once their defenses and basic skills are in place we want to be able to train them with active Slayers. That way they know each others strength and weaknesses."

"Willow," Buffy said. "You planning on coming with us to for the final fitting of the bridesmaid dresses this afternoon?"

"I don't know if it's appropriate for the best man to go on such an excursion," Willow said.

Olivia stopped short. "You're the best man," she said.

"Yep," Willow said.

"Best friend," Xander said. "Ever since I discovered her love of yellow crayons."

"Watch it buster," Willow said. "You're not allowed to tell that story to just anybody."

Giles pulled off his glasses and began cleaning them with what to Olivia looked like a very well practiced motion.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Xander smiled back. "I take it Buffy's giving you the ten cent tour Olivia."

"Yes she is," Olivia replied.

"Enjoy," Xander said. "I've put a lot of sweat into this place over the last couple of years. It will be good to get an outsider's perspective."

"You did all the renovations?" Olivia asked.

"I got my contractor's license about a year after moving here," Xander said. "Which means I get to run my own crew when we do renovations. Saves a lot of hassles."

"Speaking of hassles," Buffy said. "How many walls are you going to be tearing apart this time?"

"It won't be as bad as the third floor renovations," Xander said. "The only major plumbing job is going to be the showers. Most of the other construction will be confined just to this floor. Besides I planned ahead and roughed in the plumbing for this floor when we did the third floor. That should minimize the dust getting into your hair."

"Just as long as you remember the important things," Buffy said.

"Yes because dusty hair is the most dangerous thing we deal with on a daily basis," Giles said.

"Don't be so glib Giles," Xander said. "You haven't had to deal with a dozen Slayers all having a bad hair day at the same time. Trust me, it gets dangerous. Buffy in particular is touchy to be around."

"Come on Olivia," Buffy said. "Let's get going before Xander says something that will make Alex mad at me."

"Why would Alex get mad at you for something Xander said?" Olivia asked

"Grooms with black eyes don't look that good at a wedding," Buffy answered. "I'll show you where Alex works."

Buffy led Olivia back down stairs to the first floor.

They walked past the administration offices. "My office is in there," Buffy said. "I got the old principles office. Which is strangely ironic in so many ways."

"Can I see it?" Olivia asked.

"Oh no," Buffy replied. "I've learned. Every time I go into that office people expect me to do paperwork and other officy sorts of things. I try to avoid it when ever possible."

Olivia looked up and saw Clem coming out of one the classrooms. "Hey there Buffy," he said. "Hi Olivia. Sorry I startled you yesterday."

"Its ok," Olivia said.

"I have to go grab something from the library," Clem said. "See you around." He walked off towards the stairs.

"He's heading for the basement," Olivia said.

"There are connecting tunnels between all the buildings," Buffy said. "Clem doesn't like to go out much in daylight. Despite having a Hellmouth, Cleveland isn't as open about its demon community as Sunnydale was."

Olivia had to shake her head at that comment. Buffy opened the door Clem had just come out of and Alex walked inside.

It looked like three classrooms had been joined into one room. To her right Olivia saw several rows of bookshelves with what looked like law books on them. To her left was an open office area. She could see Alex sitting at a small conference table talking with four other people.

"….so?" a man said.

"That means we can link one or more of the victims to the property," Alex explained. "That should be sufficient grounds for the sheriffs department to get a warrant. Call Tessa and let her know."

Alex turned at the sound of the opening door and smiled when she saw Olivia. "Ok, let's take a break," she said. "We still need to finalize the work schedule for while I'm gone."

The four nodded in her direction and went back their desks.

"Olivia," Alex said. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," Olivia replied. "Buffy's been giving me the tour. I take it this is your office."

"In all its glory," Alex answered. "Let me give you the quick intros."

"That's Katherine," Alex motioned to a middle-aged woman who acknowledged the two with a nod. "Over there is Peter," a young man with auburn hair waved back. "That's Richard," Alex motioned to the blonde who had spoken first.

Alex then motioned to an older gentleman with white hair. Olivia noted that he spoke with a British accent. "And finally we have William."

"Detective Benson," William acknowledged. "Ms Summers, a pleasure to see you this morning."

"Thanks Will," Buffy said. "William use to be a Watcher before we brought him over here from England to help Alex."

"Yes working with Ms Winters has been most rewarding," William said. "Quite a departure from the work Quentin used to have me perform."

"And what would that have been?" Olivia asked.

"A little of this and a little of that," William replied with a smile. "I find it fascinating to try and approach the supernatural from the perspective of human law. Yes, a significant departure from my previous duties."

Olivia got the feeling there was a story behind those old eyes. Likely quite a few stories. But she was already building up a backlog of questions, so she let this one go.


	10. Chapter Nine Understanding

Chapter Nine – Understanding

"Why don't I join you on the tour," Alex said.

"I thought you had work to do this morning," Olivia observed.

"I do. But its not everyday I have a friend visit," Alex replied. She looked over at William. "Will keep an eye on things for a little while I show my friend around."

"Of course Ms Winters," William nodded. "We'll keep things in order until you return."

Alex left the office with Buffy and Olivia. They went to the gym. Buffy showed Olivia around the grounds first, the track and field area. She then led them through the back door of the gym and showed Olivia the facilities, a weight room, the pool and then took her back to the main Gymnasium where Olivia's mouth fell open again. Their were four women doing one on one sparring matches in the gym. They were moving incredibly fast. Olivia took the time to appreciate the grace and power the women displayed with seeming ease.

"Does this go on all the time?" Olivia asked.

"This is just some of the girls from the night patrol burning off excess energy before heading home," Buffy said.

"Just burning off some energy huh," Olivia said. "What do they look like when they're serious?"

"That's hard to explain," Alex said. "Its one of those things you know when you see it."

Olivia watched for a few more seconds. In a way it was beautiful. Until she remembered that these women used the skills she was watching here to fight creatures straight out of her nightmares. She recalled what Xander had told her the night before. The power came with a price.

"They don't have a choice about being here do they?" Olivia asked.

Buffy sighed. "Not really," she replied. "The hot chicks with superpowers thing comes with a price tag. The power is always there. You either learn how to use it or it ends up controlling you. Trying to deny the Slayer doesn't work. At least not for very long."

"I take it you've tried," Olivia said.

"Yea, I've tried," Buffy replied. "Usually ended up worse off then when I started. I am a Slayer, but the Slayer is also something else. Connected to something larger and far older. It wants, needs to hunt, to fight. The more you deny that part of its nature the harder it gets."

"I'm not sure I understand," Olivia replied.

"You're a cop Olivia," Alex said.

"Yes."

"Are you ever not a cop?" Alex asked.

Olivia had to think about that question. "Not really."

"Even now when you're off duty," Alex said. "You still think like a cop. Asking questions. Trying to figure out the situation."

"Yes," Olivia acknowledged.

"And you'll probably think like cop even after you retire," Alex noted.

"I guess so."

Buffy nodded. "It's sort of the same for Slayers. We can never not be Slayers. We can step away for a little while. But you can never really walk away from it. I can feel the Hellmouth. Feel the demons out there. The others can too, to a greater and lesser extent."

"Xander said you were drawn to demons," Olivia remembered.

"We are," Buffy confirmed. "Its mostly unconscious. For a long time I didn't even recognize it in myself. Its really only been in the last few years, working all the others that I've started to understand the nature of the Slayer."

"That's got to help," Olivia said. "Having other people like yourself to talk to. Who can relate to what you feel."

"It does help," Buffy looked directly at Olivia. "There are things only another Slayer can get. Just like there are parts of your life that only another cop can relate to. And some things nobody understands."

Olivia nodded, for the first time actually understanding something about this strange world her friend now lived in. She also saw sadness in Buffy's eyes. Buffy blinked and it was gone.

"Let's head over the place of dusty books and tweed," Buffy said, a smile back on her face. She motioned the two out the door.

"What?" Olivia was knocked out of her contemplations.

"The library," Alex translated. "Buffy only rarely refers to it as a library."

"There has only been one library I've ever liked," Buffy said. "And I ended up blowing that one up."

"You blew up a library," Olivia said.

"Graduation, 150 foot demon," Buffy said as if it explained everything.

Olivia shook her head, once again plunged back into a world she didn't understand. Although she supposed it explained the 'gas-main accident' that claimed the Sunnydale High School.

"So what was in that gym you burned down at Hemery High?" Olivia asked.

"A bunch of very nasty vampires," Buffy responded.

They came to the door of the library. Olivia watched as Buffy pulled out a card and swiped it through a reader and then punched in a code. When then walked into the lobby Olivia noted the young woman on duty at the desk. Olivia assumed she was a Slayer.

"This is the first time I've seen security inside the campus," Olivia noted.

"We have security," Alex said. "Most of it is under the surface and is not the kind of stuff that a normal security firm would install. You haven't been to the basement storage areas under the main building or the armory in the gym. There are a number valuable and dangerous items stored in those places and here in the Library. So the they have some extra stuff added."

"Some of it is magic," Buffy said opening the door to main section of the library. "Even if you got a hold of my card and knew the code, you still couldn't have opened the door."

Olivia nodded and took time to study the main room. Her first impression was that she had just walked into a normal library. There were shelves filled with books. She noticed that a lot of the books looked older than what she saw in a normal library. After a couple of seconds it occurred to her that the air felt a little dry.

"The building's climate controlled," she said.

"We have a number of old books and scrolls in here," Alex explained. "We take steps to minimize the humidity and control the environment. This was the second major renovation Xander did after they purchased the property. This is actually mild. I recommend against spending any lengthy amount of time in the archives downstairs."

Olivia nodded. She saw a large computer area off to one side of the room. The computers were divided into two groupings. One had a sign overhead saying "Outside Lines" the other said "Restricted Access."

Buffy led them to the office area in the back. When they entered the office the couple of people working at their desks looked up and acknowledged the three with either nods or a brief hello.

"Sounds like Dawnie is still on the phone," Buffy said.

"And it sounds like I need to talk to Xander about upgrading the sound proofing on the offices again," a fortyish looking man said.

"Sorry Andre," Buffy said. "Olivia Benson, this is Andre Karismov, the head of our research department here in Cleveland."

"Ms Benson," Andre nodded in her direction.

"Olivia, please," she answered. "Nice to meet you Mr. Karismov."

"Same," Andre responded. "And please call me Andre. I believe Ms Summers is speaking with Sir John at the moment. I'm not certain how long she will be."

"Gray?" Buffy said. She cocked her head towards one of the office doors. Buffy then walked up to the door, knocked twice then opened it.

"So the practice is going well," Olivia heard a voice come out the room. It was man's voice and from the distortion it was coming over a speakerphone. Even through the distortion Olivia could make out a cultured British accent.

"I'm starting to get the hang of it," Dawn responded. "Sorry Gray, my annoying sister just decided to barge in."

"Ah, Buffy," came the voice. "How are things with you these days?"

"Same old, same old," Buffy replied. "Dawn hasn't been causing you too many headaches I hope."

"She has been a most able student," the voice replied. "Is there someone else there with you?"

"Perceptive as always Gray," Buffy said. "Alex Winters is with me along with a friend of hers from New York, Detective Olivia Benson."

"Ms Winters," Gray said. "Congratulations on the wedding. Mr. Harris is a good man. Very inventive uses for a shovel."

Alex smiled. "Thank you Sir John," she replied.

"I guess we're going to have to cut the conversation short Gray," Dawn said. "I'll see you when I get back."

"I look forward to our meeting," Gray replied. "Ms Winters, please pass my best wishes along to Mr. Harris."

"I will Sir John," Alex replied.

"Very well," Gray said. "Until our meeting Dawn, I wish you well."

"Same to you Gray," Dawn replied and clicked off the phone. "Thanks a lot Buffy."

"You didn't sound like you were having fun," Buffy said.

"I wasn't," Dawn replied. "He's been quizzing me for the past half hour. But now I'm going to have to do it all over again when I get back."

"But that's two days from now," Buffy said. "You can put off the question and answer stuff for a couple of days to enjoy the wedding. If I hadn't come in he would have kept you on the phone for the next two hours."

"Ok, you win," Dawn said. "But it's going to cost you to keep me from telling all the Slayers that you advocated slacking off from training."

"Oh no," Buffy said. "You're still going to do your exercises and keep up with your training. You're just not going to be spending two hours on the phone describing it to Gray."

"Would someone mind cluing me in on this conversation," Olivia said.

"It's a Summers' thing," Alex said.

"Just a project I'm working on back in England," Dawn said. "It's related to another project we've been working on for the past year."

"And this Gray person?" Olivia asked.

"Sir John Graham," Dawn answered. "We've been working with him for the last few months."

"Another long story," Olivia said.

"They're all long stories," Dawn said. "We made some promises not to share information with outsiders, how ever much we may like them. Sorry."

"I guess I understand," Olivia said. It occurred to her that for every one thing she understood about this world at least three more things popped up that made no sense.


	11. Chapter Ten – Have a Little Faith

Chapter Ten – Have a Little Faith

Alex had returned to her office after they completed the tour of the grounds. Leaving Olivia in Buffy and Dawn's care to deal with last minute wedding preparations. She was returning with them after spending the latter part of the afternoon getting fitted for her bridesmaid dress.

She had to admit the dresses were quite nice. A light blue color, very simple and elegant in design. Buffy seemed quite pleased with them. She grumbled about the ugly dress she had to wear to the last wedding she was a bridesmaid in. Dawn had replied with a comment about how Anya took very seriously the idea that the function of a bridesmaid's dress was to make the bride look good. In Anya's view, the uglier the bridesmaids' dresses, the better she looked.

When Olivia had asked about Anya, both Buffy and Dawn had gone quiet. Merely saying that she was one the people that never made it out of Sunnydale. Olivia wondered just how many friends the two had buried in that town.

They were just about to enter the main entrance when Olivia heard a voice from behind her.

"Yo, B!"

Buffy turned towards the voice and smiled, "Faith you're early."

"Apparently we caught a tail wind or something on the flight back," Faith replied. "We landed thirty minutes early."

"Cool," Buffy said. "Olivia Benson, this is Faith and coming up steps playing the gentleman by carrying the bags is Robin Wood, who heads our training program."

"Nice to meet you," Olivia said.

"You must be Alex's friend," Faith said. "Nice to know you could make it for her and the X-man's wedding. B and Dawnie haven't completely wigged you out yet have they?"

"I think I'm adjusting ok," Olivia responded, she nodded to other person coming up the stairs. "Hello Robin."

"Hi there," Robin replied.

"Let me get the door for you," Faith said opening the front entrance.

"You're the one with the super strength," Robin said. "You could help carry this stuff."

"Its your stuff," Faith countered. "I'll carry the bags when we get back home. Besides I thought you liked playing the gentleman."

Robin shook his head and proceeded through the door followed by the others.

"So what are you guys up to now B?" Faith asked.

"We were just going to find Alex," Buffy said. "You two are still coming to dinner tonight."

"Just as soon as I work off my itch from flying," Faith responded giving Robin a look. "Get that stuff to your office Robin. I really want to get home."

"I'll shall return momentarily my lady," Robin responded, walking towards the administration offices.

Olivia watched him depart.

"So what do you think of our three ring circus so far detective?" Faith asked as she turned back towards Olivia.

"To be honest it still seems a little unreal," Olivia replied. "But Buffy and Dawn have been helping to fill in the larger blanks."

"That is what they are here for," Faith said.

"One thing I'm not clear on," Olivia asked. "You were called after Kendra died right?"

"Yep."

"I haven't heard that many stories about you from Sunnydale," Olivia noted. "I assume you were off chasing demons, but nobody told me where."

"I was in a way chasing demons," Faith answered. "Just not the normal kind."

"What does that mean?"

"I was chasing my own demons," Faith answered. "You didn't tell her any of this stuff B."

"Never came up," Buffy answered. "Besides, its your story."

"I guess so," Faith said turning her attention back to Olivia. "You're a New York City detective right?"

"Yes I am," Olivia replied. "Why does that matter?"

"Its just that you're probably not going to like the answer to where I was," Faith said. "I spent the first couple of months after I was called with my Watcher going after demons. After he was killed I hooked up with the Scoobies and worked with them for a while. Then I spent a couple of months trying to kill them."

"You what?" Olivia was thrown off.

"You did catch that bit about chasing after my own demons," Faith said. "Obviously the trying to kill them thing didn't work out. Spent a few months in coma, courtesy of Buffy. Woke up, went a little nuts, well a little more nuts. I don't recommend the coma thing by the way. Then cut a deal with cops and spent three years in a maximum-security prison. Got out joined back up with the Scoobies to scrunch the First. Been here ever since."

Olivia's head was spinning trying to keep up.

"Very good Willow impersonation," Dawn said. "I don't think you even paused for air."

"Thanks Dawnie," Faith smiled back.

Olivia finally put the pieces together. "You were in prison?" Olivia's eyes narrowed. "For what?"

"I pled to one count second degree murder, several counts of battery, one count breaking and entering and some other things, I don't remember."

"And you got out after only three years?"

"No, I broke out," Faith said. "Here comes Robin, got to go work off my itch. See you all at dinner," Faith waved as she took Robin by the arm and led him out the door.

Olivia stared after her then turned to Buffy. "She's joking about all of that right?"

"No, that's pretty much the story," Buffy said. "If you're worried, she's doing much better now."

"Second degree murder, escaped convict, what the hell is she doing here?"

"She has a full pardon from the governor of California," Buffy replied in an even tone. "If you don't believe me, there is a copy in the admin offices. As for why she's here. She's a Slayer, she's a Scooby and she's part of the family, in the crazy cousin sort of way."

"You can't be serious?" Olivia was dumbstruck.

Buffy leveled her gaze at Olivia and let a bit of the Slayer out. "Faith and I have had our problems in the past. We're not the same kind of people. But when it mattered, she was there, fighting with the rest of us. And without her, a lot of stuff that makes this place work wouldn't be here. She's made some huge mistakes, but none that are any bigger than some of the ones the rest of us have made. And she's spent the last nine years working to redeem those mistakes. She's more than earned the right to be here."

Olivia took an involuntary step backwards as Buffy fixed her with her gaze.

Dawn intervened. "Like Buffy said," Dawn began. "Faith's part of the family. And like any good family we protect each other. She's a good person. One of the best. We could have done for her what we did for Alex. Erased Faith Wilkins from the records. Make it look like she was dead, created a new life for her. She didn't want that. She wanted redemption on her own terms. So we called in a big favor and arranged for her to get pardoned."

"But why?" Olivia still didn't' believe what she was hearing.

"Come on," Dawn said, taking Olivia's arm. "We'll discuss this someplace a little more private."

Dawn led her into one of the classrooms. To Olivia it looked like a regular classroom. The desks were arranged neatly in the room. When she looked at the blackboard in the front of the room she stopped. Covering the board were images of things from someone's twisted nightmares. There were unpronounceable names beneath each of them and lists of strengths and weakness off to the side.

"What the hell?" Olivia could not take her eyes off the board.

"Mags was teaching the Demon ID class in here this morning," Dawn explained.

"Those things are all real?"

"Yep," Buffy said. "Those are all real. I've fought a few of them. That one over there, with the horns, very nasty. That's a Boogey Man over there. Goes after sick kids. Killed one of those about a month after my seventeenth birthday."

Seventeenth birthday, Olivia thought. Buffy had already been a Slayer for two years by that point. Fighting the kinds of things on she saw on that wall. There was something very wrong with a universe that would do that to a teenage girl.

"Have a seat Olivia," Dawn carefully put her in one of the seats. She then walked over to the desk at the front of the room and picked up the phone. She typed a quick extension. "Hey Will, when you see Alex have her come down to room 116 … Thanks."

Olivia finally collected her thoughts. "So Faith," she said.

"It's her story," Buffy said. "Highlights are, not a happy childhood. Pegged as a potential Slayer. Her Watcher basically kidnapped her when she was fourteen to begin her training. Which given her home life, might have been one of the only times the Watcher's did something right. She was called about six months later. After Kendra died. Her Watcher was killed two months later, right in front of Faith. Basically the only person who had ever really tried do good for her was killed and she couldn't stop it."

"That doesn't explain," Olivia started.

Dawn interrupted. "Look at that board Olivia. She was fifteen and had already had the kind of life I bet you've seen way too much of in your job. She went from that to a war against those things," Dawn pointed to board in front of the room. Olivia was certain Dawn hadn't picked this room randomly. "She made mistakes. And she's more than made up for them. Without her, none of us would be here right now, that includes you. The bad stuff she did, she wasn't even eighteen when it went down."

Not even eighteen, Olivia thought. "This is normal for you?"

"Admittedly, our definition of normal is broader than the average persons," Dawn replied. "But Faith thrives on being an exception to the rules."

At that moment Alex entered the room. "Is everything ok?" she asked. "Will said you needed to see me."

"Olivia met Faith," Dawn said. "And being Faith, she dumped the basic story on her and blew out of here with Robin."

Alex nodded. "So how much of the story have you heard so far Olivia?"

"She's a convicted murderer and she works here," Olivia answered. "And you're ok with that?"

"Legally, she has a full pardon, signed by the governor of California," Alex said. "The official reasons are related to the fact that she was minor when offenses occurred and didn't have council when she made her original confession and being under eighteen she couldn't wave that right. That plus a few other irregularities in how her arrest was carried out by the LAPD the governor felt a grave miscarriage of justice had been done. Unofficially, she helped save the world, quite literally, on multiple occasions. Sticking her in a prison cell does no one any good."

"Alex," Olivia tried to reply.

"Olivia, you know me," Alex cut her off. "If I thought she was dangerous or a criminal I'd be the first in line to put her back in prison. I've worked with her for the last ten months. She's annoying, infuriating, crude, practically survives on double-entendres and has absolutely no discipline. But she also cares about doing the right thing. She's one the best at working with the new Slayers, helping to keep them on the right path. I trust her completely."

Olivia had rarely seen Alex get so passionate about something. About someone. This wasn't the same Alex Cabot she remembered from New York. This was Alex Winters. A woman, who worked for demon hunters, talked about saving the world and was about to marry a man who had lost his eye to a 'homicidal preacher.' There were girls here who fought the monsters she was staring at on the wall. Who did it everyday. Some who started as young as fifteen.

Dawn favored Olivia with a smile. "And now the reality of it really hits you."


	12. Chapter Eleven – Feels Like Home

Chapter Eleven – Feels Like Home

Dawn and Buffy left Olivia alone with Alex.

"How do you deal with this Alex?" Olivia asked.

"Sometimes not very well," Alex replied. "You're seeing me after I've had some time to adjust. The first month I was here I was practically catatonic some days. Xander actually helped get me back on track."

"But this place is so different," Olivia said. "And yet…"

"And yet something here feels right," Alex said.

"I can't really explain it," Olivia replied. "But for all the weirdness, there is something about this place that seems familiar."

"It took me a while to figure it out," Alex said. "They care about what they do here. The same way you, Elliot, John, Fin and Captain Cragen all care. You say 'we speak for the victims.' To most people that's just some meaningless phrase. When you said it to Xander last night, he understood. Most of the people here understand what it means. Just like you understood Xander when he told why he does this and Buffy when she talked about what it means to be a Slayer."

Olivia nodded. It made sense. In her job she dealt with the worst parts of humanity. She saw things that no one should have to see. It was impossible to do the job well if you didn't care. She looked back up at the board. The people here fought those things. Saw that ugliness on a daily basis. To do that job well they had to carel. But there was a danger in caring too much.

"They care," Olivia said nodding. "Is that why they brought you here Alex? Because they care so much they don't want to become like what they fight."

Alex smiled. "Yes, that's why Buffy hired me. Doing what you do its easy to cross the line. The same is true here. And the consequences of crossing that line here can be a lot more severe. So they hired me to help them find the line and stay on the correct side of it."

Olivia nodded again. "I bet that's not easy."

"No its not," Alex acknowledged. "Slayers by their nature tend to be aggressive. They prefer direct action. One of the functions of Watchers is to help channel that aggression. To give the Slayers the proper targets. That's usually simple when they are dealing with a seven foot tall demon that likes to bite peoples' heads off. When dealing with humans it gets a lot more complicated. For that matter is tends to get complicated with the demons too, but I generally don't deal with that part of the job."

"Are you really happy here Alex?"

Alex smiled. "I am. It surprises me too. This place is frustrating. The same way New York was frustrating. Far too many of the cases I deal with end up with a less than happy ending. Buffy gives me a lot a freedom but things can still end up a muddled mess. But working with the people here makes it worth it. This is a war that will never really be won. But like Buffy told me the day she offered me this job, everyday I wake up and have the chance to make things better is a victory. Another day we've won the war."

"A chance," Olivia said. "Is that what they fight for."

"That and the world," Alex said. "Buffy explained to me that the biggest single mistake the Old Council made with the Slayers was disconnecting them from the world. Making their entire lives revolve around fighting demons. They may have created good fighters but not good people and not true warriors."

"I'm not sure I understand."

"Kendra was perhaps the epitome of what the Watchers thought a Slayer should be," Alex explained. "Trained from a young age to fight demons. No purpose beyond the hunt. She was incredibly skilled. And she died barely a year after being called. Killed by a vampire that both Buffy and Faith could have taken."

"They need something beyond the hunt," Olivia nodded.

"Exactly," Alex replied. "Buffy's right when she says a Slayer can't walk away. But they can step away for a brief little while. One of things they try to encourage is for the new Slayers to take that opportunity. To connect to the world. To know what it is that they are fighting for. A reason not only to fight but to survive and to succeed."

"You know I think I understand now how Buffy and Dawn were able to work so well with us last year," Olivia said. "Everybody found it weird how they just seemed to fit into the team like they were always there. But I guess in a way they were. As strange as it is, they deal with the ugly things nobody else can or wants to deal with."

Alex smiled and then changed the subject, "You need to get ready for dinner."

"Where are we going tonight?"

"Xander's and my house," Alex answered. "Don't worry, neither of us is cooking. We have a friend who will handle the food preparation."

"Who's coming?"

"All the Scoobies," Alex replied. "Buffy, Dawn, Willow, Giles and Faith. Robin's coming, along with Kennedy, Willow's girlfriend, and Andrew neither of whom you've met yet."

"Sounds like an interesting evening."

----

A couple of hours later Olivia found herself at the dining room table in the home Xander and Alex shared. It was a pleasant looking two-story house; Olivia could see touches of Xander's carpentry in various places. The front porch had obviously had some work done. There were some very nice built in shelves lining one wall of the living room. The railing on the staircase had been upgraded.

It turned out Andrew was the chef for the evening and he was surprisingly good. Most people around the table had beef tenderloin that Olivia felt was better than most restaurants. She saw that Willow was enjoying a stuffed and roasted Acorn squash that looked delicious. She found herself having seconds of Andrew's roasted potatoes and garlic.

For a second she thought the strong garlic had something to with vampires before Willow pointed out that the vampire aversion to garlic was mostly a myth. The few cases where a vampire was affected by garlic usually turned out to be a psychosomatic reaction.

The early part of the evening's conversation floated around catching various people up on what was happening in their lives. As the evening progressed a large portion was devoted to embarrassing stories about Xander, for which he always had an equally embarrassing counter story.

"So you all ended up as your Halloween costumes?" Olivia asked.

"Yea, I got to be the bad ass soldier," Xander explained. "Willow was a skanky ghost and Buffy ended up as annineteenth century maiden who screamed at cars because she thought they were demons."

"I was not skanky," Willow said.

"In that outfit," Xander said. "Would you prefer slutty ghost?"

"It was a pretty revealing outfit," Buffy said.

"You made me wear it," Willow countered. "Said I had to shed my old skin, that Halloween was a chance to be a new person."

"And I thought the new you should be a skank for one night," Buffy smiled back.

"I'm so hexing you into the middle of next week," Willow said.

"You know, we never did have a truly quiet Halloween in Sunnydale," Buffy said. "I blame Giles for that."

"What ever did I do to deserve the blame for that?" Giles demanded.

"You jinxed us G-man." Xander answered. "You made that huge deal our junior year about how demons don't do Halloween, how they think its blasé and over commercialized. How humans had corrupted its true meaning. So they all decided to take the day off."

"You know," Dawn said. "That is true, you did jinx Halloween from that point forward."

"Perhaps," Giles replied. "But I am not the one who went on a date with vampire on Halloween."

"I didn't know he was a vampire at the time," Dawn replied.

"I haven't heard this one yet," Faith said. "Little Dawnie got herself some vampire action."

"One kiss," Dawn said. "Then I staked him."

"Just one kiss huh," Faith said. "I guess Buffy's the only one in your familyallowed to get past first base with a vampire."

"I wasn't the one who tried to seduce a brat'ic'tic demon," Buffy said.

"It worked," Faith replied. "He opened the portal and then it was off with his head."

"When exactly did you try to seduce a demon?" Robin asked.

"A few months ago," Faith replied. "Me and B got stuck in a little pocket dimension during our last trip down under. The only way out was to get the demon to open the door for us. I only did it because I wanted to get home to you."

Robin smiled and shook his head.

"Is this a typical night for you guys?" Olivia asked.

"Not yet," Buffy answered.

"What makes it a typical evening?"

"You'll know it when you see it," Dawn answered.

"I know it seems I've pestering you guys with questions," Olivia said.

"No more than anyone else who comes here for the first time," Dawn said. "Truth be told, you actually ask good questions."

"Thanks," Olivia said. "But why don't you guys tell people what's going on here?"

"This one's mine," Andrew jumped in. "I get to answer this one."

"So what's the answer?" Olivia asked.

"Have you ever seen the movie Men In Black?" Andrew asked.

"No."

"Really?" Andrew looked shocked. "You really should see it some time. Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones. Great special effects. The whole concept of aliens living among us…"

"Andrew," Giles interrupted.

"Yes."

"The explanation."

"Oh yea sorry," Andrew said. "I just can't believe someone hasn't seen such a good movie. I mean it's already become a classic…"

"Andrew," Giles said. "Sometime before the wedding starts please."

"Ok," Andrew conceded. "Anyway, Olivia, there's this scene in the movie where Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are sitting on a park bench. Will Smith just learned that aliens are real and have been living among us for decades. So he asks Tommy Lee Jones why don't they just tell people that aliens are real. 'People are smart. They can handle it.' Tommy Lee Jones replies that 'a person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals."

"So," Olivia said.

"He was right," Andrew said. "If we told the world and provided proof that magic was real, what do you think would happen? It would be like shouting 'fire' in a crowded theater."

"Consider your reaction Olivia," Giles said. "You've spent the past two days surrounded by people who can answer your questions and cushion the blow so to speak. That is not possible with a large group."

"We have enough trouble dealing with people who accidentally stumble on the supernatural or play with things they don't fully understand," Dawn said. "Image a world where your next door neighbor tries a curse because your dog barks to loud. Where everybody knows they can do something magical and constantly tries. All it takes is few people messing around and the world could literally go boom."

"Some people would take the news calmly," Willow said. "But a lot of people would react in a panic. Proof that somebody you know could cast a spell on you. It could make the Inquisition look like a minor disagreement at a church social. Humanity isn't ready to learn the full truth about how the world works."

"It's like Tommy Lee Jones said," Andrew added. "'Fifteen hundred years ago everyone knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was flat.' Two days ago you knew the supernatural didn't exist."

"Think about how leaders and people responded to those truths," Dawn said. "It wasn't pretty. And that was before instant communication and before those panicky people had access to nuclear weapons. It will a long time before the world is ready these truths. Until then we'll do everything we can to make sure they're still here when they are ready."


	13. Chapter Twelve – Now it’s a Scooby Party

Chapter Twelve – Now it's a Scooby Party

After dinner the group had moved to the living room. Xander had actually managed to coax a couple of embarrassing stories about Alex out of Olivia. Much to the enjoyment of the rest of the group who were glad to have a little ammunition to finally use on Alex.

"So Xandra," Xander said with a smile. "You never told me that particular detail."

"You never specially asked Alex," Alex replied.

"Damn it guys," Buffy said. "I know you two only do that when I'm around."

"What ever are you talking about Buffy?" Xander said.

Buffy shook her head. "You do remember I'm a Slayer. I could hurt the two of you."

"You wouldn't hurt your Alex-shaped-friend," Xander said.

Buffy looked about ready to make a snide comment back when her cell phone went off. "Always in the middle of a party," she muttered and then clicked on the phone. "What's up … gotcha … the new guy … got a location … ok, we'll be there in about half hour … no. Have Mags' team meet us there to cover the perimeter … thanks Anne."

"What's up?" Dawn said.

"Seems the rumors about a new master vamp in town are true," Buffy said. "One of the patrols came across something. Willow, Faith, Kennedy we need to get going. Dawn and I need you and Giles backing Andre up on the dusty books, Anne says one the fledglings was wielding some odd sickle like weapon. Said Hiko got a weird vide off of it."

"What's going on?" Olivia asked, noting the sudden shift in tone around the room. "Is there anything I can do?"

"We've got it covered," Buffy said. "Wouldn't be a Scooby party without some demon interrupting the fun. Let's get going. I'll drive."

"Willow will drive you guys," Dawn said. "I'll take Giles back to campus."

"Dawn's right," Willow said. "Give me the keys. I'll drive."

"It's my car," Buffy pouted.

"Olivia," Dawn said. "If there is one thing you need to take away from this week, it is this. Under absolutely no circumstances, even to get to the apocalypse, do you allow a Slayer to drive a car," Dawn was already out of her seat and walking towards the door.

"One accident," Buffy said following. "When I was in high school. Wasn't even my fault. And I'm branded for life."

"Come on Dawnie," Faith said as she followed Buffy. "We're not that bad. Buffy's right, we don't get in accidents."

"No," Dawn acknowledged. "You just freak out everyone else on the road by driving like maniacs."

"I've told you a dozen times," Buffy said. "It's not our fault everyone else on the road has such bad reflexes and poor situational awareness."

"Just like the heart attacks you induce in passengers aren't your fault either," Dawn noted.

Olivia was bewildered by the exchange as the Scoobies kept bantering about driving all the way out the door, trailed by Giles who just shook his head in a resigned manner as he polished his glasses.

"Alex what's going on?" she looked over at her friend.

"Sounds like one of the patrols came across something bad," Alex replied. "They don't call Buffy and Faith for anything small."

"And you guys are ok with that?" Olivia asked.

"If it was an apocalypse they'd be making worse jokes," Xander said.

"Huh?" Olivia was pushed off track.

"Relax detective," Robin said. "Buffy, Faith and Willow are probably overkill for whatever's out there." He looked over at Xander than back at Olivia. "If you want to do something we could head back to campus and help Dawn with research."

"We can stop for sugary snacks on the way," Xander said.

"I'll phone an order in with Donut King," Andrew said as he pulled out his cell phone.

"Donuts?" Olivia was still trying to keep up.

"As I mentioned last night," Xander said. "It's impossible to overstate the importance of sugary goodness in keeping the world safe from demonic threats."

-----

A short while later Olivia was crammed into the backseat of Xander's car with Andrew, Robin and three dozen assorted donuts. They arrived back at the Foundation's campus and Xander pulled the car to stop and led the group to the library. When they entered the lobby Olivia noted a different young woman on duty than earlier in the afternoon. She acknowledged the group with a nod.

When they entered the main room Olivia saw several people gathered around one of the main tables in the center of the room. The table was littered with books and several scrolls. She recognized Giles and Dawn directing the chaos and she noticed Andre and the other people from the research department gathered around.

"The weapons all bare the symbol of Am'lok'Tosh," Giles said.

"We got that Giles," Dawn replied. "We know they intended to use them to draw power from their kills. The question is why. And where are they channeling the power," she looked over at the approaching group. "Hey guys. Just put the donuts down on the other table. Who's got my espresso?"

"Right here," Alex said handing Dawn a cup.

"Thanks Alex," Dawn replied.

"Willow says between her and Faith they should be able to find the master's base of operations in a couple of hours," Andre said.

"I've got something," one of the women said. "It's a reference to Am'lok'Tosh."

"Let me see," Dawn said. She took the book and began scanning. "Says there is more information on a Scroll of Am'lok'Tosh. Don't suppose we have that here."

"Checking," anther woman said typing on a laptop. "According to the index the Council has it. But it's at the Passau office."

"Call them up. Have them scan it into the system and e-mail us a copy," Andre said.

"It's marked as 'do not scan,'" the woman replied.

"Ok then," Dawn said. "Let me check something in the archives downstairs. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Dawn," Giles looked up. Olivia noted a worried tone in his voice. "I don't think that is necessary."

"I got it covered Giles," Dawn answered and headed towards the basement entrance.

Olivia was about to ask a question when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked back and Xander shook his head. She decided to hold her questions for the time being.

"So G-man," Xander said. "What's going on?"

Giles quickly shifted his attention back to Xander, "Anne's patrol encountered two fledgling vampires attacking three college students. They stopped them. One of them mentioned being in the employ of a powerful master vampire. Hiko noticed that the weapon he was wielding had a very odd magical aura. They sent us pictures. We've matched up the markings and we believe the master is trying to perform some type of empowering ritual. That's as far we've gotten. Buffy and the others are trying to track down the master's lair."

"Gotcha," Xander said. "Anything you need us to do?"

"We have the research well covered," Giles said. "Robin, I believe Mags' team is going to be leaving soon. They were delayed gathering supplies for Willow."

Robin nodded. "I'll head out with them," he said as he turned back towards the door.

"Is there anything we can do?" Olivia asked.

"Unless you are fluent in Akkadian Greek I very much doubt it," Giles said. "Do not worry detective. We have things well in hand. Alex, why don't you take Olivia back to the main building."

Alex nodded. "Come on Olivia. They need to work," she led Olivia back out the library towards the main building.

Olivia was upset.

"Alex something is going on," Olivia said. "We need to do something."

Alex actually smiled. "Now you know how I felt every time you guys went out on an arrest while I had to sit back at the office waiting to find out what happened. Olivia, this is what they do. They are very good at it. Quite frankly, you and I would get in the way."

As they entered the main building Olivia looked back in time to see an SUV pull away from the gym with Robin at the wheel accompanied by four young women.

Alex led them to her office. When they entered the office there was only one other person present.

"William," Alex said. "I'm surprised to see you here so late."

"I wanted to make certain everything was in order before your departure Ms Cabot," he replied. "I presume you two are here because of the minor bit of excitement happening."

"Minor bit of excitement?" Olivia said.

"Detective Benson," William nodded in her direction. "My days in the field may have ended quite some time ago, but I remember what they were like. It takes quite a bit more than a single master vampire to rattle me. Particularly if he is foolish enough to draw the full force of the Slayers upon himself so soon after moving to this city. I rather suspect this matter will be cleared up in the next couple of hours. In the meantime I have some fresh tea if you would like."

"Thank you William," Alex said. She motioned Olivia to a seat at the meeting table and took the chain next to her. "I believe I will have a cup. Olivia, anything for you? William brews an excellent cup of tea."

"I'm fine thanks," Olivia answered.

"The detective is a woman of action," William observed. "She is use to being able to respond to threats directly. She is finding being kept on the sidelines most distressing."

"I'm fine," Olivia said.

"Which is precisely why you are fidgeting so much," William said as he placed a cup of tea in front of her. "Do have a sip. It is quite helpful in relaxing."

Olivia took a sip of the tea and looked at William. "This is quite good."

"Thank you," William replied. "My mother taught me at a young age the proper way to brew a pot of tea."

"So what do you do here William?" Olivia asked.

"He's my babysitter," Alex replied.

William smiled at the comment. "Ms Summers thought it appropriate that Ms Cabot have someone on her staff with experience in the field and a strong familiarity with demons to help advise her on the more esoteric portions of the job. And I must say Ms Cabot has proven a most able student."

"Technically I'm your boss," Alex said.

"Of course," William replied. "And one who shown a great willingness to learn. And, to be honest, teach. This assignment has become one of the most interesting things I have ever done for the Council."

"So you were part of the Council before the battle against the First," Olivia said.

"Yes I was," William answered. "Although I had left a couple of years before that battle. I disapproved of the way Quentin chose to employ some the men I had trained."

"Quentin?" Olivia asked.

"Quentin Travers, the last head of the old Council," Alex replied. "None of the Scoobies liked him. From what I've heard he was not a nice man."

"Do not be so quick to judge Quentin solely on what you have heard from Ms Summers and the others," William said. "I knew the man for many years. They met him after he lost his son. He was never the same after that day. You've met his grandson Eric of course."

"A couple of times," Alex replied. "Heard quite a few stories."

"He is much like Quentin was before my namesake was killed," William said. "In his early days, Quentin was something of a rebel. I did not like having to walk away from my old friend. But he left me no choice."

"What happened?" Olivia asked.

"Ever the inquisitive mind detective," William said. "Suffice it to say he took a course of action I disapprove of. I left. I returned when Dr. Giles began rebuilding the Council."

"And ended up here," Olivia said. "What qualifies you to handle legal matters?"

"Legal matters are Ms Cabot's per view," William answered. "My task is to explain the supernatural. Tell me Detective, how are you finding our humble little operation?"

"It's been interesting," Olivia answered.

William leaned back in his chair for a few seconds and studied Olivia. "You find it appalling that the universe allows young women to go into combat against monsters. And as much as you may respect the Summers sisters and value your friendship with Ms Cabot you desperately want to find a way to shut this place down and send all these girls home to a normal life."

"That's not what I said," Olivia was surprised.

"But it is what you feel?" William replied.

Olivia stopped and thought about what she had learned over the last two days. "In a way, I guess yes. The people here are good people. And they obviously care. But," she shook her head. "But things shouldn't work like this."

"No, they should not," William agreed. "But we can only deal with the universe as it comes to us. Demons exist. Like it or not, normal human beings and mortal laws are of limited to no use against such a threat. The Slayers, on the other hand, can combat the demons on their own terms. They have the power. They are the Champions. Those that stand on the line between the darkness of the world and the rest of us. You and I have choices Detective Benson about whether or not to what we do. They do not. And I agree, it is a terrible burden the world has placed upon them. But consider something."

"What?"

"The world is still here, Detective," William said. "Whatever we may think of the system. It clearly works. The Slayers have proven more than able to meet the challenge. Even when those of us whose task is to aid them, fail in our duties, the Slayers have succeeded. That is a testament to the strength of untold generations of Slayers."


	14. Chapter Thirteen – Sisters

Chapter Thirteen – Sisters

Olivia was back in the room she was sharing with Buffy and Dawn. After a little over an hour talking with William and Alex Xander came to pick Alex up. He informed them that everything was under control. The master was dust and Buffy and the others would be back in a couple of hours. They were going to make a final sweep to deal with the last of the minions.

Since it was already late Olivia decided she needed some sleep.

She woke up when she heard arguing coming from the common area.

"I don't need a lecture from you Buffy," Olivia recognized Dawn's voice.

"The hell you don't," came the retort from Buffy. "What were you thinking?"

"That you needed the scroll," Dawn said. "I got it and got it to you and Willow. It worked," there was a pause. "Don't give me that look Buffy. You're not the only one allowed to use the 'it worked' excuse to justify your actions."

"Dawn," Buffy said. "That's not what I mean and you know it. You're still learning. You shouldn't do something like that without more preparation."

"I've gotten very good at finding places I've been too before," Dawn replied. "And I can always find you."

"When I'm taking on three vamps," Buffy said. "You could have gotten hurt."

"Come on," Dawn sounded exasperated. "Between you, Faith and Kennedy drilling me, I can take most Slayers one on one. A couple of fledging vamps aren't a threat. Besides, its not like they saw me coming."

Olivia began to get out of bed.

"We woke our guest up," Buffy said. Olivia stopped. She had forgotten about Buffy's enhanced senses. She shrugged her shoulders put on her robe and opened the bedroom door.

She found Buffy and Dawn both standing in the center of the room. Buffy's outfit was covered in dust and Dawn's sleeve was torn. Both sisters looked very annoyed with one another.

"Sorry to wake you Olivia," Buffy said.

"It's alright," Olivia replied. "Xander said everything was under control."

"Yep," Buffy said.

"So what happened?"

"Vampire trying to draw power from killing people," Dawn replied. "Only we didn't know that his target was actually Slayers. Its fortunate someone managed to get a hold of a copy of the spell he was using or we could have been in a lot of trouble."

"We had it under control before that," Buffy said. "He wasn't prepared for a whole squad of Slayers. He thought we would be stupid and come at him one or two at time."

"You still needed the scroll to do the proper counter spell," Dawn retorted. "Underpowered or not, a whole pack of duplicate vampires could have done some serious damage."

Olivia was lost in the exchange. "Duplicate vampires?" she said.

"Nothing," Dawn replied.

"Duplicate vampires are nothing?"

"Just another day at the office," Buffy deadpanned. "Try dealing with a vampire version of your best friend from an alternate reality. That's weird."

"Really?"

"Yes," Buffy replied and turned her attention back to Dawn. "We can finish this later."

"It's over now," Dawn shot back. "Don't try and play big sister with me. I got the job done. No harm, no foul."

"What were you doing at the battle?" Olivia asked Dawn. "Last time I saw you, you were heading down to the archives room."

"Willow needed information and a special scroll to perform a spell," Dawn answered. "I got them."

"Dawn," Buffy started. "I'm not going to be stupid and say you can never go into the field. But you've got other responsibilities now. You have to pick and choose the right times. You have to think about how it affects others. We can't afford to lose you."

"You never though about what it meant to us or me when you decided to leave," almost as the words came out of her mouth Dawn stopped moving.

Olivia's attention was focused on Buffy. For a brief fraction of a second the mask dropped. Most people would have missed it. But Olivia had spent years learning to read other people's pain. In that fraction of second of Olivia saw more pain and loss in Buffy's eyes than she had ever seen before. Then it was gone. Buffy's face became a mask of hardness.

"Oh god Buffy," Dawn started babbling. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. You have to believe me. I just hate it when you guys try to baby me. I'm so sorry."

Buffy closed her eyes for a second than opened. When she spoke her voice was under tight control. "I know Dawn. It's all right. I know you didn't mean it that way," Buffy turned and walked out the door.

Olivia turned to Dawn who slumped down in a chair.

"I'm an idiot," Dawn said. "I know better."

"Dawn. What happened to Buffy?" Olivia asked. "I know the look she had. I've seen rape victims with less pain in their eyes. What do you mean when you said she went away? Why wasn't she able to stop the others from doing whatever it is they did to trigger the First's attack."

Dawn looked up. Olivia could tell she was deep in thought. "You really don't want to know the whole truth Olivia."

"Someone hurt your sister," Olivia said. "Hurt her enough to make her go away."

"It wasn't going away that hurt her," Dawn said. "It was bringing her back. Back to this life. Back to the Slayer."

"I don't understand."

"You don't want to," Dawn answered.

"Dawn," Olivia sat down in the chair next to Dawn's. "How is she? Really?"

"Most of the time she's pretty good," Dawn said. "She's Buffy. Days like this, when somebody says something stupid."

"What happened?" Olivia asked again. "You mentioned that Xander and the others did something. What they did hurt Buffy."

"It's not that simple Olivia," Dawn replied. She paused again to gather her thoughts. "They convinced themselves they were doing the right thing. That they were helping. They forgot the first rule of magic. There's always a price. The second rule; the price is always higher than you know."

Olivia tried to think of a new approach. "Dawn."

"Olivia," Dawn cut her off. "How many of the images have you seen on the job do you want out of your head?"

That brought Olivia up short. "I don't see how that's related to this."

"How many doors have walked through that you wish you hadn't?" Dawn continued. "This is that kind of thing Olivia. Once you go through the door. Once you see what's inside. You can't just turn and walk away. I like you too much to do that to you. I know the job you do. Alex has told me enough and I've seen enough in my own life. I know you're probably strong enough to hear the truth. But you don't need that burden along with the other ones you already carry."

Olivia looked away from Dawn. The intensity of young woman's gaze was like nothing she'd ever seen before. What could possibly be that bad? And did she really want to find out?

"Does Alex know?" Olivia turned back to face Dawn wanting see the woman's eyes when she answered.

"Yes," Dawn answered. "She knows everything."

"And she's ok with it?"

"As ok as she can be. Are you ok with everything you've seen in your job?"

"No," Olivia answered truthfully. "Sometimes it seems too much to deal with. But I have my partner and the rest of the team. Munch, Fin, Cragen the new DA, Novak, she's pretty good."

"We've got the other Scoobies," Dawn said. "They've been there with us. They're our family."

Olivia nodded in response.

Dawn got up. "Get back to sleep Olivia. There's a wedding tomorrow. And you're the bridesmaid. You need to look your best."

"Where are you going?"

"I need to talk to some people," Dawn answered. "And do a better job of apologizing." Dawn started walking towards the door. She stopped and turned back to Olivia. "Don't tell Buffy this. But I actually kind of like it when she does the big sister thing."

Olivia gave a half smile to the comment and watched Dawn leave. In the morning she was going to have a very long talk with Alex.


	15. Chapter Fourteen – Do You Really Want to...

Chapter Fourteen – Do You Really Want to Know?

"Morning," Olivia heard as she stepped out of her room and saw Buffy sitting comfortably at one of the chairs. Olivia tried to get a read on her mood but couldn't. Buffy's face was utterly composed. She looked calm and controlled.

"Be ready in 30 minutes and dress casual," Buffy said. "There's something you need to see."

"Buffy…" Olivia started but was cut off.

"Save it," Buffy said. "Dawn said you wanted to know the truth. Be ready in 30 minutes."

"What are you going to show me?"

"The truth," Buffy replied.

"I was planning on talking to Alex," Olivia said.

"Alex is getting married today," Buffy said. "She's going to have a good day. Good days don't generally include having someone demanding to know everything about my life. Besides she wouldn't have told you anything anyway."

"Why not?"

"Because its my truth to tell," Buffy replied. "Not hers. You want to know something about me, then ask me."

"What happened to you?"

"Why do you want to know?" Buffy asked.

"Somebody hurt you," Olivia replied. "And you're still in pain. I can see that."

"This isn't a case Olivia," Buffy said. "You're not investigating some crime. You're not going to be arresting anybody at the end of the day."

"Buffy you've got children here," Olivia said. "And you talk about sending them into war. That's not right. It may be the way the world is, but that doesn't make it right."

Buffy smirked. "No one ever said it was right. And you haven't answered my question yet. Why do you want to know?"

Olivia stopped. For the past two days everyone had been warning her that magic had a price and that truth was painful. "Because that's what I do. Somebody has to," Olivia was surprised at how difficult it was to find the right words.

Buffy studied her carefully. "Alex was right. You are stubborn. Do you really want to do this Olivia? Do you really want to walk through this door? No one is making you. You can still just go to the wedding this afternoon. Have a good time with your friend and head home tomorrow knowing the world is a little stranger than you thought."

Olivia paused to think. "That's not an option Buffy. You have children here. Are they going to end up like you? I can see the mask now. You're still in pain. Is that what being a Slayer means? Hiding the pain."

"Get dressed," Buffy said. "Meet me downstairs in 30 minutes."

"Why do we have to go somewhere else to learn the truth?" Olivia asked.

"Because you're not the only person who needs to learn something today," Buffy answered. "I'll be waiting down in the lobby with Faith and Janie." With that Buffy got up from her chair and left.

Almost 30 minutes later Olivia stepped out the elevator and walked over to the lobby where she saw Buffy and Faith talking with the young girl who offered to carry her bags when she arrived Tuesday. She'd only been here two days. It felt like months.

"Morning Olivia," Faith said. "Buffy said she was going to drag you along for this."

"Drag me along for what?" Olivia asked.

"My first patrol," the girl said excitedly. "Hi again detective. You probably don't remember me. I'm Janie," she said sticking out her hand.

"I remember you," Olivia replied shaking the offered hand. She then turned her attention back to Buffy. She tried to keep her voice under control. "You're taking this girl out to fight."

"Yes," Buffy replied. "She's had a lot more training then I did before my first patrol. And I didn't have the benefit of two other Slayers and New York detective to back me up. Plus it's daylight, minimal demon activity. We're just going to do a little clean up from last night's festivities. You wanted to know what it means to be a Slayer."

"You should have let me come last night," Janie complained. "I could have helped."

"We had everything covered," Faith said. "You're not ready for that kind of thing just yet."

"I'm the best in my class," Janie responded. "I can out fight all the other girls. You let Pam go."

"Pam was working with Anne's group last night," Buffy replied as she started leading the group out the door. "She was already on the scene."

"I'm stronger than she is," Janie pouted. "I have the power. I can feel it."

Buffy looked back at Janie. "You're feeling the Slayer. That isn't the real source of your power," she motioned at one the cars in the lot. "Get in. Olivia why don't you ride in the back with Janie. You're both from New York."

"Your sister said it was a bad idea to let you drive a car," Olivia pointed out.

"My sister is sometimes easily startled," Buffy replied.

"I saw your records in New York Buffy," Olivia said. "Clean accept for six tickets over a three year period."

"I'm perfectly safe behind the wheel," Buffy said. "You're the one who wants to know the truth. Get in."

Olivia nodded and got in the car next to Janie. She looked over at the girl next to her. She was young. Red hair from a bottle, cut about shoulder length. She was about Olivia's height but thinner.

"So how long have you been here Janie?" Olivia asked.

"Three weeks," the girl replied. "I'm spending my summer training. I turned fifteen in February."

"What does turning fifteen have to do with it?" Olivia asked.

"That's the age when a potential comes into her power now," Faith answered.

"And Mona wouldn't let me do anything until I had proper training here in Cleveland," Janie pouted.

"Whose Mona?"

"One of the Slayers who lives in New York," Buffy said. "She keeps an eye on Janie along with a field Watcher."

Olivia suddenly grabbed the door handle when Buffy sped out of the parking lot. That didn't bode well, Olivia thought.

"There are Slayers in New York?" she asked.

"Just a couple," Faith said. "New York is a pretty quiet town when it comes to demons. Most of them just pass through on their way here."

Olivia turned her attention back to Janie. "Do your parents know you are a Slayer?"

"Just my dad," Janie replied. "Mom kind of disappeared after the divorce. He's known for a while now. He doesn't like it. But I'm Slayer," she smiled up at Olivia.

"And you like being a Slayer."

"I can't begin to describe the feeling," Janie said. "The power just flows through me. I'm stronger and faster then everybody else."

"You haven't been out in the field yet," Olivia noted.

"Not really," Janie answered. She got mischievous grin on her face. "I did a little patrolling in New York. I dusted a vampire."

"You dusted a fledging," Buffy said. "Mona took out the other three while you weren't looking. And shouldn't have been out there."

"But I could feel them," Janie protested. "I had to do something. How did you know anyway?"

"You think you're the first Slayer who ever snuck out of her house to patrol," Buffy said. "We keep an eye out for that sort of thing. Besides what's rule three?"

"Always know where your sisters are," Janie answered.

"You still haven't figured that one out yet," Faith said.

Janie deflated. "I can fight."

"That's not always enough," Buffy said.

She merged the car unto the freeway. Olivia braced herself against her seat the car began to accelerate and dart in and out of traffic. The car was going way to fast for Olivia's comfort. She glimpsed around. Faith and Janie seemed perfectly relaxed. Buffy seemed way too relaxed for the speed she was going at. She was barely paying any attention to the road. She just zipped around the cars seemingly without seeing them.

Maybe Dawn was right about never allowing a Slayer to drive.

She decided to take her mind off watching Buffy maneuver through traffic by sorting through everything she had seen over the last two days.

She remembered her conversation with Dawn the night before. Buffy wasn't hurt by someone driving her away but by bringing her back. Back to the Slayer, Dawn had said. She was starting form an opinion about what had happened to Buffy. What the others had done to her. She looked over at Janie.

She could see the Slayer in the girl now that she knew what to look for. The predatory gleam in her eyes. The way, without looking, she seemed to know everything that was happening around her. The tightness in her muscles, the way she was always ready for battle. She had an idea what the girl could do from the training sessions she had seen. She was willing to acknowledge that that kind of power needed an outlet. But it still felt wrong that a fifteen year old girl had to fight monsters.

And if she was right in her suspicions, the girl didn't have to be a Slayer. She looked at Buffy. She had a pretty good idea now just what Xander, Willow and the others had done to her.


	16. Chapter Fifteen – Hunting

Chapter Fifteen – Hunting

About an hour after they left campus the car pulled to a stop in an old industrial area of city. Olivia felt relieved when the car stopped. She decided it would be better to walk back to campus than ever get into a car with Buffy behind the wheel again. Slayer senses and reflexes probably meant Buffy and Faith were right in saying they would never actually hit anything. But it also meant they could get a lot closer to stuff, going a lot faster than anyone had any right too. Dawn wasn't kidding about heart attack inducing.

She looked down at the squirt gun Faith had given her during the drive. 'Holy water' the woman had said.

Buffy looked over at her. "Just squirt it at any vamps that come your way. It won't kill them, but it will keep them from coming closer. Janie, your job is to keep an eye on the detective. Stay close to her. Understand."

"Yes," the girl replied.

"Good," Buffy said. "Let's go."

She led the group down a block to an old seemingly abandoned warehouse. Buffy and Faith both scanned the outside.

"Anything?" Buffy asked.

"Nothing on the old Spider Sense," Faith replied. "We got all the ones inside last night."

"So why are we here now?" Olivia asked.

"We were rushed last night," Buffy answered. "We didn't have time to check for and seal off every possible exit route. The Master that ran this place was smart. He probably dug some of his own tunnels linking up to the city sewer system and utility tunnels. We're going to do a more thorough search this morning. There is a possibility that a stray minion or two got away during the confusion."

"We should start on the east side," Faith said. "We were focused on covering Willow while she did the spell last night. That was the last area we cleared out."

"Right," Buffy said. "Remember Janie, stay close to Olivia. Neither of you wonders out of sight of either Faith or myself. Clear."

"Yes," Janie answered. Olivia nodded.

Buffy led the group into the building and they made their way towards the east side of the warehouse. The area was partitioned off into several smaller rooms.

"It doesn't look like anything happened here last night," Olivia noted. "The place is run down. Doesn't look like its been used in months."

"Vampires are nice in that they are self cleaning," Buffy said. "Some of the dust on ground belongs to the Master's duplicates. We also try to mop up after any big fight. We've got an informal arrangement with the Cleveland PD. As long we keep things under control they don't bug us about the demon stuff. Part of that agreement is cleaning up after ourselves. Never had to worry about that much in Sunnydale. The cops there were idiots."

"The Mayor wanted it that way," Faith said. Buffy flashed her a look. "I'm ok with it now B," she said. She cocked her head. "Over here gang. Look at the floor."

Olivia looked down at the floor. Someone had laid wood out over one area of the floor. It was cut into pattern. Olivia noticed one of the shapes was square and about the right size for a person to fit through.

"You think there's a trapdoor under there?"

"One way to find out," Faith said. She knelt down on the floor next to square. She felt around like she was looking for a latch then just shrugged her shoulders. She raised her fist and punched directly down. Her fist slammed through the floor. She started to pull her out and grabbed the side of the hole she had made. She yanked up. There was loud grinding noise as the trapdoor was pulled lose from its hinges. Faith casually tossed the door to the other side of the room.

Olivia peered down the hole in the ground.

"There's no ladder and the ground looks about 20 feet down," she noted.

"There are some footprints down there," Faith said. Buffy leaned over the whole and nodded.

"How can you tell?" Olivia asked. She could barely make out the ground.

"Good night vision," Buffy answered. "No vamps directly down below right now, but it definitely looks like a couple may have used this to get away."

"Gotcha," Faith said. "The three of us can get down with ease. But Olivia probably can't do a twenty foot drop"

"You three stay here," Buffy said. "I think I saw some rope back the other way. I'll be back in a second."

A few minutes later Olivia was being lowered to the ground by Faith. Buffy and Janie were already standing in the chamber waiting for her. She touched the ground and removed the rope. She was surprised when Buffy pulled her aside. She saw the rope get yanked back up and Faith drop effortlessly to the ground.

"How are we supposed to get back up?" Olivia asked.

Faith looked at her and grinned. She crouched down and sprung straight into the air. Olivia watched in amazement as she caught the edge of the hole and dangled for a couple of seconds before dropping back down.

"That's how," Faith said. "There wasn't anyplace to secure the rope. Besides this place is probably connected to the sewer and utility tunnels. B and I know those pretty well. There's plenty of ways out."

Buffy pulled a flashlight out and handed it to Olivia. "Keep it pointed towards the ground about five or so feet in front of you. Don't shine it down the tunnels or around the walls. A flashlight down here is the equivalent of an 'Eat at Joe's' sign to vampires."

"Door over here," Janie said. Olivia walked up to it.

"Looks thick. At least three inches," Olivia said. "Reinforced. Probably bolted from the other side." In the back of her mind she figured ESU would have to either cut through a door like this or resort to a small charge to get it open. Suddenly she felt Faith grab her by the arm pulled her aside. She watched as Buffy walked up to the door and kicked it solidly in the center. Her mouth dropped open as the door tore off its hinges.

Buffy looked at her and shrugged her shoulders. "Faith you've got point. Janie stick with Olivia, remember keep the flashlight pointed towards the ground. I'll take the rear."

"No problem B," Faith said as she moved walked through the door. Olivia followed after her. They were walking through what appeared to be a hand dug tunnel about fifteen or so feet long. It punched through the side of service tunnel.

Olivia saw the door lying about ten feet into the tunnel. She looked back at Buffy who just stared blankly back at her.

Faith stopped at when she reached the service tunnel. She paused and closed her eyes. Then she couched down and examined the ground around her.

"What are you doing?" Olivia asked.

"A little hunting," Faith replied. "This way," she led the group off to the left.

After they'd traveled about a block Faith motioned for everyone to stop.

"Where are they?" Buffy asked.

"About a block over," Faith replied. She motioned with her hand.

Buffy nodded and focused her attention in the direction Faith had motioned. "Got 'em," she said. "Janie, what do you feel?"

Janie tried to focus in the same direction as Buffy. Olivia could see the girl concentrating.

"I don't feel them," she said.

"It's ok Janie," Faith said. "You're still learning. I didn't really start to develop the talent until after Sunnydale. The old Council never taught the Slayers how to use their senses properly. There are more than a couple of them."

"I agree," Buffy said. "Can't tell how many just yet." She looked up towards the roof of the service tunnel and smiled. "I think we've got everything. Let's scout them out."

"There are vampires up there," Olivia said.

"Yep," Faith replied. "B and I will take care of them. You and Janie stay back."

"But I can take them," Janie said.

"You stay with Olivia," Buffy said. "Your responsibility is to protect her. Understand."

"Yes," Janie said in a resigned voice.

"You got your holy water Olivia?" Faith asked.

Olivia pulled out the squirt gun. "Right here."

"Ok," Faith said. "Remember. Squirt it directly at the vamps. It's like acid to them. Some of the older ones can shrug off the effects pretty quickly but fledglings and weaker vamps will be out of action for a minute or two if you get them in the face."

"Just stay with Janie," Buffy said. "Turn off the flashlight. Don't want to advertise ourselves too early."

Olivia was starting to feel nervous. It was one thing to hear about vampires and listen to stories over dinner. Buffy was about to lead her to real vampires. She was about to have her first real encounter with the supernatural. She glimpsed and the three girls with her. Well not counting the Slayers.

The group began to move forward slowly. Faith stopped them again after they had gone about a half block.

"One of them is old B," she said. "And he's strong. I can feel him from here."

Buffy nodded. "Probably the master's number two. He'll be perfect."

"Perfect for what?" Olivia asked.

Buffy just shrugged off the question. "There should be a couple of supply and service rooms around here. They're probably holed up in one of those." She glimpsed back up towards the roof of the tunnel. "Janie what do you feel now?"

Janie paused and another look of concentration crossed her face. "I think I can feel them now," she said.

Olivia could see a changed in the girl. The Slayer came more to fore. Her eyes had a predatory gleam and Olivia felt the now familiar feeling in the pit of her stomach that something dangerous was nearby.

"I can take them," Janie said.

"Your job is to protect Olivia," Buffy said. "Do you feel anything else?"

"What do you mean?" Janie asked.

Faith shook her head. "Still doesn't get it."

"Ok, Faith and I will go in first. Janie stay with Olivia," Buffy said.

Faith and Buffy stayed a few feet ahead of Olivia and Janie. Suddenly Olivia saw Faith bolt forward in blur. She thought she heard a whooshing sound.

"Takes care of the guard," Buffy said. "The rest are probably in the alcove just around the corner. Faith and I go in first. You two follow. Got it?"

"But …," Janie started.

Buffy cut her off. "Stay with Olivia. Don't do anything until Faith or I tell you."

"Yes ma'am," Janie said.

"Don't call me ma'am," Buffy said. "I may be oldest Slayer on record but I'm not a senior citizen yet."

Olivia blinked. Oldest Slayer on record. Buffy wasn't even thirty.

"Let's get the party started B," Faith came back down the tunnel.

Buffy nodded. "Let's go."


	17. Chapter Sixteen – Rule Three

Chapter Sixteen – Rule Three

The group moved forward. Faith and Buffy had the lead while Olivia and Janie held back.

Olivia took time to study the three other people with her. Buffy and Faith seemed calm, relaxed and ready for battle. Even from behind she could see how they moved. Heads moving, scanning the area around them. Their bodies moved a grace she had never really seen before.

Janie by contrast was tense, like she was about to explode. She could see the Slayer taking over. She recalled her conversation with Buffy the day before. The Slayer needed to hunt, to fight.

Olivia could see the entrance to the alcove just ahead of Buffy and Faith. The two women shared a look. Buffy then motioned for Olivia and Janie to stop and wait. Olivia stopped and moved closer to wall. She could see Janie fidgeting. Buffy stared at the girl for a second and Olivia saw Janie visibly calm a little.

Buffy turned back to Faith who shot forward again. She took up position at the far side of the entrance. Buffy took the other side. Both women were carrying stakes.

Suddenly Olivia was knocked out her contemplations when three men came out of the entrance. They all looked young, not very well dressed, and dirty. The man in the middle looked surprised to see the four women.

"Slayers!" he shouted. Olivia took a step back when all three of the men's faces changed. Ridgelines appeared on their foreheads and then the fangs. "Kill them!"

The three charged forward at near blinding speeds. Buffy moved faster. The lead vampire disappeared into dust. Buffy spun around so fast Olivia could barely follow her movements. The second vampire slammed headfirst into the wall and lay there.

The third vampire decided to exercise the better part of valor and turned to run. Buffy flicked her wrist and the stake caught him square in the back. He too burst into dust. By that point the second vampire had recovered enough to get up. He let out a yell and charged Buffy. She easily sidestepped the charge and plowed a solid kick into his stomach. He went down again. Buffy leaned down grabbed him by the shoulder and threw him against the wall. She pulled out another stake and the last vampire turned to dust.

It all happened so fast Olivia barely registered it.

Faith had disappeared into the alcove.

"You didn't leave any for me," Janie pouted.

"Stay with Olivia," Buffy said. "You're here to learn. How many vamps are around that corner?"

"Some," Janie replied, the fidgeting had returned.

"Stay put," Buffy said, she seemed to glimpse at something behind them. Olivia turned but didn't see anything. "I'm going to back up Faith."

"But…"

"Stay," Buffy said and she spun around and disappeared though the entrance.

Olivia looked at the girl. "Janie."

"We should go after them," Janie said.

"Buffy said to stay," Olivia said. Her heart was pumping. Seeing real live, well undead, vampires was a shock.

"We can watch," Janie began to move towards the entrance. Olivia reluctantly followed. She wasn't certain how she could have stopped her even it she tried. 'Boxing up a tornado' was how Xander described trying to control a Slayer. She could hear the sound of fighting.

They reached the entrance in time to see Faith dust one of the last three vamps in the room.

The other one who had been fighting Faith tried to make break for the exit. Janie cut her off. Olivia saw the smile on the girls face. The vampire tried to get around her but Janie was too fast. She pulled out a stake. The vampire lashed out with her foot and caught Janie in the stomach.

Olivia looked past the two and saw Buffy and Faith fighting the last vampire in the room. He seemed to be holding his own against the two older Slayers. Olivia could tell there was something different about this vampire. The others looked dulled. Like they were fighting on nothing more than instinct. This vampire radiated intelligence. Faith had said one of the vampires was old.

There was a loud whooshing sound as Janie finally dusted the vampire she had been fighting.

"Only one left," Janie said.

"Janie I told you to stay put," Buffy glimpsed back at the two.

"I can take him," Janie charged forward. She cut between Buffy and Faith and attacked the vampire. He easily blocked her first blow and sent her flying into the back wall. She bounced back up and came back at him.

Olivia was about to move forward when Faith grabbed her arm. She hadn't even seen the woman approach her.

"Let B handle this," Faith ordered.

"Janie's going to get herself killed," Olivia was watching the fight. Janie was barely holding her own against the vampire.

"Not today," Faith said. "Today she's learning."

"Learning?" Olivia was outraged.

"It's the only way to reach some the girls," Faith said. "It took Buffy putting me in coma and Angel beating the crap out of me while I was on a suicidal high before I recognized how I was letting the Slayer control me. And then three years in prison to get control back."

"But..."

"Just watch."

Olivia watched the fight. Janie was good. But was she fighting on nothing more than instinct. Relying on her speed and strength. The vampire was just as strong and fast she was. And he was clearly more experienced.

"Janie step back," Buffy said.

"He's mine," the girl panted.

"Foolish child," the vampire taunted. "I've lived for 400 hundred years."

"I'm stronger than you," Janie replied.

"It's not enough to just be strong Janie," Buffy said. "Think about what he is. Think about what he'll do if he gets away."

Janie charged in again. The two moved too fast for Olivia to follow the action. She saw the vampire block one of Janie's kicks. Then he lashed out and knocked her to the ground. Before he could strike another blow Buffy slammed into him. He hit the wall and staggered back to his feet. He let out a roar and charged Buffy.

This time the fight went against him. Olivia could see Buffy was in a whole different league from Janie. She blocked blows with ease. The vampire staggered under her attack.

Janie rose to her feet. "He's mine!" she yelled and charged back into the fray. Buffy stepped back.

This time Janie did better. Her opponent had been weakened by Buffy's assault. The two seemed evenly matched. But the vampire was still the more skilled.

"Janie…" Buffy started to speak.

"I don't need any help," Janie shot back. She took a blow that knocked her back to the center of the room.

"Why are you letting him do this to her?" Olivia demanded.

"She's a Slayer and it's the only way some of the girls learn," Faith said. "Look at her."

Olivia looked at the Janie. Her whole body was tense. She was about to charge back into the fight. Olivia could see the Slayer controlling her.

"She can't stop herself," Olivia observed.

"Not yet," Faith acknowledged. "And she doesn't realize it."

The vampire was standing with his back to the wall, like a cornered animal. And cornered animals are the most dangerous.

"Janie," Buffy said softly. "I want you to step back now. Let me and Faith deal with this."

"No," Janie said. "I can do this."

"No you can't," Buffy said.

"Let her come Slayer," the vampire said. "When I feast on her blood I will be strong enough to take even you."

"Not likely," Buffy replied.

"You were foolish to come with so few," the vampire answered back. Buffy just smiled at him.

He charged at Janie. She stood her ground and let him come. He again knocked her to the ground and again Buffy knocked him back before he had a chance to strike another blow.

"I said I don't need help!" Janie shouted getting to her feet. "I can take him alone."

"No you can't," Buffy replied. "You're fighting on instinct alone with just the Slayer. The Slayer's not enough against a vampire like this."

"I'm strong," Janie began moving back towards the vampire.

In the back of her mind heard Buffy's voice from the drive. Sometimes strength wasn't always enough. She flashed to Buffy training the girls the day she arrived.

"Janie," Olivia said. "You need to control it. Don't let the Slayer control you."

"I'm the Slayer," the girl answered. "The Slayer fights alone."

Olivia saw the vampire begin to rise off the ground again.

"You're not alone Janie," Olivia said. "And the Slayer's just a part of you. And I very much doubt it's the most important part."

The vampire moved forward slowly. Buffy watched it carefully. But Olivia kept her attention focused on Janie. The girl looked confused, like she was trying to sort through a complicated problem.

"She's right Janie," Faith said. "You're not alone. Rule three."

Janie nodded.

The vampire charged. This time she stepped aside and let Buffy move in first. As the vampire staggered back from Buffy's attack Janie spun in and attacked from his blind side. He managed to block her, but just barely. Buffy's wrist flicked and Olivia saw a stake fly out. Janie plucked it out of the air without looking. She plunged it into the vampire's heart and he burst into dust.

Janie collapsed to her knees and looked up at Buffy. "I could feel you. I knew where you were. How you would attack, where he would be vulnerable. Why didn't I feel you before? Why didn't I feel Faith?"

"The Slayer wasn't letting you," Buffy answered. "The Slayer was a lone hunter. But we're not. Rule three."

"Always know where your sisters are," Olivia spun when she heard the voices behind her. Three other women had entered the room. She recognized Mags and was certain she had seen the other two around the campus. She glimpsed at Faith.

Faith shrugged. "What? You thought we'd go vampire hunting without backup. We're crazy detective. Not stupid. At least not that stupid."

"This was a test?" Olivia was outraged.

"In a manner of speaking," Faith said. "Janie needed to see that the Slayer wasn't enough. We knew some vamps got away last night. So we trailed them. We had Mags' team shadowing us the whole time. We paused back there to give them time to block off the other end of the corridor. Come on. Let B and others take care of Janie," Faith led Olivia out of the alcove and back into the utility tunnel.

"That girl couldn't control herself," Olivia said. "And you let her come out here."

"Better here than sneaking out alone," Faith said. "That's what she was starting to do in New York. She tried to do it here a couple of times."

"Turning her into a Slayer made her lose control?" Olivia asked.

"In a way," Faith answered. "It's different for all of us. Janie was pretty bad. If we hadn't done something she would have kept trying to go out alone. Eventually she would have bumped into a vamp or demon like the one back there without any backup and gotten herself killed."

"But she doesn't have to be like this," Olivia shot back.

"There isn't a choice detective," Faith said. "Once a Slayer, always a Slayer. We all just have to learn to live with it. Side benefit is getting to be a really hot chic with superpowers."

"That's not true is it?" Olivia asked.

"What?"

"That's the big secret," Olivia said. "I figured it out. Dawn said it was coming back to the Slayer that hurt Buffy. She found a way out didn't she? She found a way not to be the Slayer. You have a way to change these girls back."

Olivia watched as Faith's expression changed to one of near shock. "Man did you guess that wrong," Faith shook her head. "I guess I could see where you might think that," she looked Olivia straight in the eye. "There's never been a retired Slayer detective. Never. There's only one way out of the gig for all us. What happened to B. You wouldn't wish that on anybody. I dreamed it once. What I dreamed was a pale shadow of what happened to her. I came within an inch of beating the crap out the X-man and Red after I woke up."

"What the hell happened?"

"B's story to tell," Faith said. "If she tells you, the world won't look quite the same afterwards. It hasn't for me."

"Why didn't you go after Xander and Willow?"

"B stopped me," Faith answered. "There's a service elevator up to street level just around the next corner. One of the Watchers will drive you back to campus. Don't bother asking he doesn't know the story. We've got to take care of Janie."

A/N – Sorry for the lengthy delay in updating this story. This chapter just didn't want to come together. A bunch of false starts and at least six re-writes later and in all honesty I'm still not entirely comfortable with the flow. But the rest of the story is sitting in the back of my head demanding to be written so I'm just going to plow past this point so I can move on.

Hopefully the next chapters will flow more easily.


	18. Chapter Seventeen Redemption

Chapter Seventeen - Redemption

Olivia was still sorting through her feelings as Faith led her to the service elevator. The elevator deposited the two in an alley. The sun was out and Olivia could hear the regular bustle of a morning commute. As they walked out of alley onto the sidewalk Olivia saw one of the Foundation's vans parked on the other side of the street.

They crossed the street and approached the van. Faith stopped short as a blonde woman turned and approached them.

"Kate," Faith said. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Alex invited me in for the wedding," Kate replied. "I got in last night."

"I didn't see you come in," Faith said.

"I'm staying at a hotel," Kate explained. "This is supposed to be a vacation for me. I knew if I stayed on campus I'd get pulled into something. I was right too. Walked in this morning and Giles tapped me to come out here and collect Olivia," Kate turned her attention to Olivia. "And I assume that's you," she held out her hand. "Kate Lockley. You're NYPD right?"

Olivia took the offered hand. "Olivia Benson." Olivia studied the woman in front of her. Olivia recognized her bearing. "You were a cop."

"LAPD, homicide," Kate replied. "Been out for a while now."

"How did you end up here?"

"Long story," Kate replied. "I'll give you the short version on the ride back. Faith, I'll see you at the wedding."

"Sure thing Kate," Faith said. "I got to get back and help B with Janie. See you later Olivia."

Olivia watched as Faith turned and headed back towards the service entrance. "So how did you end up here?"

"Met a vampire with a soul," Kate answered. "Career went downhill after that."

"You're talking about Angel," Olivia said as she allowed Kate to lead her back too her car.

"Yes," Kate said. She motioned for Olivia to get into a car parked behind the van. "I was working a serial killer case. It was a demon doing the killing so Angel was tracking the same killer. For a while I thought he was bad guy. I was wrong. Angel killed the demon and saved my life."

"And that's when you learned about all of this?"

"Didn't have a clue," Kate said. She pulled the car out unto the street and began the drive back to the campus. "At the time I thought Angel was just some vigilante or something. It was a couple of months later that I learned he was a vampire."

"I bet that came as a shock."

"It did," Kate said. "The supernatural is a strange world. It has its own rules. Thing you need to remember Olivia, demons have been around since before history started. They'll probably be here when it's all comes to an end. A lot of them view us as little more than food."

"So how did you meet Alex?" Olivia asked.

"I met her a couple of times when I've come into to town for meetings," Kate replied. "She visits the LA office occasionally. She said I reminded her of a friend from a previous life. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that was you."

"I guess so," Olivia acknowledged. "What do you know about Alex before she joined the Jenny Calendar foundation."

"Not much," Kate said. "I know her real name isn't Winters. Given what I've seen of her work and some of the comments she's dropped, I figured she was a DA before coming here. You're from New York so that probably means she was an ADA there. My guess is she was assigned to your unit."

"You don't know anything else?"

"I didn't ask, she didn't tell," Kate said. "In all honesty, I could figure it out if I wanted to. Don't have a reason. Alex Winters is my friend. If she wants to talk about what she did before, that's her choice. I don't talk much about what I did before joining the Foundation."

"Does anybody else know about her?"

"The Scoobies all know, along with senior people in the Council," Kate said. "William most likely knows. There's not much that gets by him. If you're worried someone will find her. Don't be. We don't rat people out here. In some ways the Council is a refugee spot for cast-offs and people who don't fit anywhere else in society. That makes us family. And we take care of family."

"By sending girls out to fight demons," Olivia said.

"They do the job," Kate said. "Better than I ever could as a cop. Police just don't have the resources or the knowledge. Hell, they can barely keep up with the human scum. Demons, whole different story. Slayers have the power to fight them."

"I saw that down in the tunnel," Olivia acknowledged. "I couldn't even follow what Buffy and Faith were doing. You've fought demons?"

"I'm in charge of the Watchers at the LA office. I back the Slayers up in the field," Kate said. "I've dusted my share of vamps. But I've also seen what happens to the regular people who play demon fighter, the ones who don't have supernatural powers to draw on and try to go it alone. Most of them don't last more than a couple of years, if that. The ones that do, do so by becoming worse than the things they kill."

"But…"

"But it still seems wrong," Kate finished. "I've been working out of the LA office for the past two years. I've gotten to know the Slayers I work with. You can't make them stop Olivia. Whatever force out there that runs the universe, God, Powers-That-Be, Wal-Mart, it hard wired demon hunting into the Slayers."

"They either use it and learn to control it or it destroys them," Olivia said. "That's what Buffy said."

"It's true," Kate said. "Faith's one example."

"You two seem like you're on friendly terms," Olivia noted. "You know her past."

"I know it. She was my perp," Kate replied. "I spent about a week tracking her through LA. She put about a dozen people in the hospital, one guy for over six months, busted up a nightclub and then she tried to kill Angel. Although according to him, she was actually trying to get him to kill her."

"She was that out of control?" Olivia asked as got in the car.

"Yea she was," Kate replied. "It's lucky she was looking to get herself killed. I don't even want to think about how much damage she could have done if she was just looking to kill for fun. Slayer strength and skill she could have just as easily killed anyone she came in contact with. An out of control Slayer is not a pretty sight."

"And you're okay with her being out of prison?"

"It took a while," Kate said. "I still have a hard time separating the girl I met in LA from the woman she's become. She was a shell when I first saw her. All anger and pain, hollow inside. She's different now. She has a purpose. She's great working with the younger Slayers. Even better than Buffy."

"In what way?"

"A lot of the girls tend to look at Buffy with a sort of hero worship. She's been doing this the longest and stopped more apocalypses than almost everyone else who works with Council combined, with the exception of the other Scoobies," Kate explained. "That makes her more distant, harder to get to know. There are also times when she seems kind of disconnected. Faith is more approachable. She's made mistakes and she's honest about them. The others can relate to her better."

"What do mean by Buffy being disconnected?" Olivia asked.

"I can't really explain," Kate said. "Buffy only pulled me in to help with the LA branch a couple of years ago. But the girl I met that first time in LA, back when I was still with the force, was alive. There was a real fire in her eyes. She's older now. The fire is still there. But it disappears sometimes."

"Like a permanent sadness that she hides really well," Olivia replied.

"I think most people miss it," Kate said. "It took a while before I saw it."

"Do you know what happened to her?"

"Thirteen years of being the Slayer," Kate said. "Seven of those as the Chosen One. Having the weight of the world on her shoulders alone. Watching friends die. Making life and death decisions every day. I'm amazed she doesn't look more burned out at times."

"Are all these girls going to end up like that?"

"It's different now," Kate said. "Its not 'the one girl in the all the world' anymore. There are lots of Slayers. They get real support from us Watchers. They have others like themselves to talk too. I'm not going to lie Olivia. It's a hard life. But some of my Slayers hold down full time jobs. A couple started families. They couldn't do anything like that before. Something really bad happened to Buffy. I don't know what. I think a lot of the Slayers know but they don't say anything to me. In all honesty, she does seem to be getting better in the time I've known her. She connects more. She devotes almost all of her time to the Council and the new Slayers. She comes alive when she's working with them."

"Faith said she dreamed about what happened to her once," Olivia said.

"Yea the dream thing is weird," Kate said.

Olivia shook her head. "And your ok with someone like Faith being an example to the other Slayers."

Kate shot Olivia a look. "In all honesty she's better than most people I could think of."

"She killed someone."

"I know," Kate replied. "And she paid for it. And she still is."

"Three years in prison is paying for it?" Olivia said.

"Another thing I've learned," Kate said. "Payment comes in a lot of different forms. The law doesn't recognize all of them. You've cut deals with perps in exchange for testimony or other assistance."

"Every cop does that."

"That's sort of what we have with Faith," Kate said. "We cut a deal with her. And she cut one with herself. She's going to spend the rest of her life trying to make certain what happened to her doesn't happen to any of the new Slayers."

"And that makes in right," Olivia replied. "How can you trust her?"

"There is one serious upside to this job that I never got as a cop," Kate said.

"That doesn't answer my question," Olivia said.

"I'm getting to that," Kate answered. "As cops we see all the bad things. We see people at their worst. We send them to jail. If we do deal with those people again, its when they break the law again."

"I know that," Olivia said. "People don't change."

"Once a perp, always a perp," Kate nodded. "I use to think that too. Then I entered this world. All the evil that's out there Olivia. All the crap we deal. There is a balance. We don't get to see it much as cops. I see it here."

"What are you talking about?"

"There is such a thing as redemption," Kate said. "People can change. It's not easy. It's never pretty. But it is real. I've seen it. I've seen a soulless vampire that became a champion. Heard about another one. I've watched Faith go from an empty girl filled with pain to a vital woman who is indispensable part of the team. I never saw that as a cop. I doubt you see very much out that either."

"No I don't," Olivia replied. Redemption? She shook her head. How many repeat offenders had she put away in her career? How many people had fallen back into old patterns?

"The cynical cop in you is shaking her head at that concept," Kate said. "I did too for a long time. That attitude doesn't work real well around here. They believe in second chances. And they've been rewarded because of it."

"I've seen too many rapists get out of jail and do it again," Olivia said.

"I did too," Kate replied. "And know you don't believe it now. But there is redemption. People have to work for it. And like I said, it's never pretty. But some the best champions out there, started out as the worst bad guys. I know it sounds like the plot of a bad movie or TV show."

"And when they don't change?"

"Then they end up dealing with us," Kate answered. "And that can get a lot uglier than redemption."


	19. Chapter Eighteen Choices

Chapter Eighteen - Choices

During the rest of the drive, Olivia had what was probably the first 'normal' conversation she'd had since arriving on Tuesday. She and Kate talked police work and old cases. Comparing and contrasting police work in New York with police work in LA. It was a pleasant diversion from the bizarre world of the supernatural she had been dealing with for the past two days.

Olivia wasn't sure what to make of everything she'd learned. She had already started to develop an intellectual acceptance that the supernatural was real, but what she saw this morning shook her.

Buffy and Faith were unreal. They moved and fought like something out of a movie. More than that, they both seemed so much more alive when they were fighting. The power was almost overwhelming.

But Janie was a different story. The girl had barely been able to control herself at first. But Olivia saw that change. Buffy and Faith put her in a position that forced her to change. There had to be a better way. Fifteen year old girls don't belong on the front lines of a war. But what do you do with a fifteen year old girl who was strong enough to rip someone's head off?

Olivia shook her head as the car pulled up the campus's front entrance and Kate lowered her window to deal with the security system. When they pulled into the parking lot Kate led Olivia to the admin office in the main building. She knocked on the door to the principal's office and opened the door.

For some reason Olivia wasn't surprised to see Giles and Dawn waiting for her as she came in. Olivia glimpsed around the office. It was pretty sparse. What caught her attention was the gorgeous picture on the wall. It was a pencil drawing of three women. In the center was Dawn. She recognized Buffy's picture to right of her sister. She did not recognize the other woman.

"The woman on the left is my mom," Dawn said.

"This is a beautiful picture," Olivia replied. "Who ever drew this did an amazing job. I've never seen a drawing like this. It's almost like he captured your essence."

"It was done by a friend," Dawn said. "An artist of rare Vision."

"I've delivered one New York City detective as directed," Kate said.

"Thank you Kate," Giles said. "Apologies for interrupting your vacation."

Kate shrugged, "Olivia it's been a pleasure to meet you."

"You too Kate," Olivia answered shaking the other woman's hand. Kate nodded to Giles and Dawn as she left the office.

"Take a seat detective," Giles motioned to one of the chairs in front of the desk.

"I take it this is Buffy's office," Olivia said as she sat down.

"Yes," Giles replied. "She allows me to use it when I'm in town. I imagine there are some things you would like explained."

"I'm just trying to understand," Olivia said.

"Yes," Giles said. "I would have preferred Buffy and Faith not take you on that particular excursion."

"You're in charge," Olivia noted. "Why didn't you stop them?"

Giles smirked and shook his head. "Detective Benson, I figured out less than a day after meeting Buffy that we would never have the traditional Watcher Slayer relationship. That is even more true now. I may be the Head of the Council on paper. But quite honestly the position is mostly administrative. When it comes to the Slayers, Buffy and Faith have final say. That was made abundantly clear to me five years ago," again Giles shook his head. "I still don't know how they managed to get so many Slayers into LA without me knowing about it."

"What?"

"Another one of those really long stories," Dawn said. "And we don't need to open that can of worms today."

"Yes quite," Giles paused. "We occasionally need to deal with outside groups. Tell me detective, who do you think makes the better representative; a blonde haired southern California woman, who likes to talk about shopping for shoes; a one eyed carpenter with a tendency towards one liners and sarcasm; perhaps the red-headed lesbian witch; maybe the confessed murderer," Giles glimpsed at Dawn, "Or perhaps the 22 year old CEO with a penchant for playing embarrassing practical jokes?"

"Hey," Dawn looked shocked. "I resemble that remark. I do a good job with outside groups. Better than Buffy."

"In other words," Olivia cut in, "you got the job because you're an adult."

"As Xander put it so eloquently the other day," Giles said. "I have dignity," he shot another glance at Dawn. "Despite the efforts of some to strip me of that dignity."

There was a knock on the door. "Enter," Giles said.

Olivia turned in time to see Kennedy come through the door. "You guys wanted to see me?"

"Yes come in please Kennedy," Giles motioned with his hand.

"Where's Willow?" Dawn asked.

"Willow's on 'Xander Patrol,'" Kennedy answered as she sat down in the last open chair. "She says she's not letting him out his sight until he says 'I do.' So unless there's an apocalypse going on, she's otherwise engaged for the rest of the afternoon."

"Very well," Giles said. "Buffy took Olivia with her this morning."

"Willow said Buffy was thinking about doing that last night," Kennedy nodded. She looked at Olivia. "Little shocking, wasn't it?"

"Yes it was,' Olivia said. "How could they do that to that little girl?"

"That 'little girl' is a Slayer," Kennedy replied. "And she was in danger of losing control of herself. Of letting the Slayer control her."

"Why do you all talk like that?" Olivia said. "You call yourselves Slayers, but you also talk about the Slayer like its something separate from you."

"Because both are true," Kennedy answered. "I am a Slayer. But that part of me is also connected to something else. Something that was here long before people showed up in the world."

"Buffy said something similar yesterday," Olivia said. "But that's not an answer."

"Yes it is," Dawn said. "You want to do the spiel Giles?"

"Detective," Giles began. "Contrary to popular mythology, the world did not begin as a paradise. It began as hell. Pure demons walked openly. They ruled this plane of existence. Then something changed. The animals began to rise. The pure demons left, died off or went to sleep. The process took millions of years. And humanity arose during that time. By the time we appeared there were only a few pure demons still left on this world. One of the last fed on the blood of a human, and in turn allowed that human to feed on some of its blood, its essence. That was how the first vampires were created."

"What does that have to with Slayers?" Olivia asked.

"The demons left," Dawn took up the explanation. "But they left behind servants and lesser demons. Vampires being the most obvious and numerous. Humans had no real defense. A group of men, we call them the 'Shadowmen' found a way to infuse the essence of one of the last pure demons into the body of a young girl of their tribe. They created the first Slayer."

Olivia looked in shock at Kennedy. "Are you saying that you are empowered by a demon?"

Kennedy shrugged. "Yes. But that doesn't mean what you think it does."

"What does it mean?" Olivia asked. "Because you guys fight demons. They're supposed to be evil."

"Olivia," Giles said in a calming voice. "Good and evil are concepts that first and foremost involve the ability to choose. You don't call a shark evil because it kills someone. The ancient demons were not creatures of choice. At least not most of them. They were more like the Greek or Roman pantheon of Gods. They were personifications of ideals."

"I don't follow," Olivia said.

"The demon that was infused into that girl was a pure hunter a fighter," Dawn said. "That was its nature. That's all it existed for."

"But I choose what it hunts," Kennedy said. "That's the real power. Buffy kept trying to explain it to us at the beginning. But back then she didn't really have the words. So it took a while before I got it."

"But you still have to hunt," Olivia nodded.

"Yes," Kennedy replied. "Like Dawn said, that's what the Slayer exists for. But like I said, the real power is our ability to choose. The Slayer may give us strength, speed, senses. But I give it purpose. Some of the girls are blinded by the strength. They mistake that for power. Janie was doing that. The Slayer wanted to hunt, so she wanted to hunt. But that's all she wanted."

"And that's not enough," Olivia said.

"Not if you want to survive," Kennedy said. "First rule of Slaying: Don't die."

"What's the second rule?" Olivia asked.

"Don't die," Kennedy answered. "Buffy wanted to make sure that one was stressed."

"It's still not right," Olivia said. "You did this to these girls, put something into that they can barely control."

"We had no choice at the time," Giles said. "The First had an army. We had two Slayers. We needed more. If we hadn't done this, the world would be awash in demons now. Hell would have returned to Earth."

"The crisis passed," Olivia said. "Change them back."

"We can't change them back," Dawn said.

"Why not?" Olivia asked.

"Magic has a price," Dawn said.

"That's not an answer," Olivia said. "Not for what you are doing to those girls."

"It's different for all of us," Kennedy said. "Most of the girls get it pretty easily. Talking, working with the other Slayers, they get control. A couple are like Janie. They need to be pushed into finding that control. In New York she was trying to sneak out alone. If Mona hadn't of been watching over her, she'd be dead by now. The fact that the old Council didn't understand the nature of the Slayer is probably why so many of them didn't make it past their first year."

"Just how many girls have died in this war?" Olivia asked.

"The Slayers have existed since at least the dawn of history," Giles said. "Most likely even before that. Six, maybe seven thousand years. We really don't know. The Watcher's Council in its previous form dates from roughly the ninth century AD. The previous group that had stewardship of the Slayer line dated back to perhaps the eighth century BC. What came before that? We can only guess. What little we know comes from the Slayers themselves."

"Seven thousands years of girls fighting alone," Dawn said. "And dying alone. From the archives we know that the average Slayer's life expectancy back then was less than five years. Aside from Buffy and Faith only seven other Slayers are recorded to have survived more than decade on the job. They are now the longest serving Slayers on record."

"That's wrong," Olivia said.

"That's magic," Dawn said. "In order to create something powerful enough to protect them and humanity from the demons, the Shadowmen had to sacrifice something of value. The more valuable the sacrifice, the more powerful the protection humanity would gain. This all happened millennia ago. When humans lived hand to mouth. One of the most singularly valuable things to any tribe in those days was a young woman. A person who could give birth too and nurture the next generation. So that's what they offered. In return they received something powerful enough to hunt down and destroy the things that were hunting down and destroying them. They got the Slayer."

"Think about it detective," Giles said. "All great religions have an element of sacrifice to them. In Christianity, it was the Son. In so called pagan faiths it might be an animal or valued member of the tribe. In some belief systems, its desire that must be surrendered, the pleasures of the flesh so to speak. But the pattern is the same in all. In order to gain something, in this case survival for humanity, something must be sacrificed."

"The Slayers," Olivia whispered. "Faith said there has never been a retired Slayer."

"And there never will be," Kennedy said. "Once a Slayer, always a Slayer. Don't get me wrong detective. I'm not looking to die. And I sure as hell plan on fighting it as long as I can. That part of me that needs to hunt is always there. Maybe if I live long enough it will go away. I doubt it. But there are enough of us now that we can have real lives. I don't have to give everything to the Slayer the way they used to."

"You didn't get to choose to be a Slayer," Olivia said. "They took away your life. Put you on the front lines of war," she turned too look at Giles and Dawn. "You did that too all these girls."

"Like Giles said," Dawn replied. "We didn't have choice."

"Then change them back," Olivia said.

"Have you not been paying attention detective," Giles said. "Magic comes with a price. We paid a high price to survive the First. What price would have the world pay to return it to the state it was before all this began?"

Olivia stared at Giles. She was working everything through in her mind. "This all goes back to Buffy doesn't it? She really did find a way out. That's what started all this. What happened too her? What did being the Slayer do to her?"

"That's her story to tell," Dawn said. "My guess is she'll tell you when she gets back."

"What?" Giles sounded surprised. "That's not something Buffy shares."

"She wouldn't have shown Olivia Janie's test if she wasn't planning on telling her everything," Dawn said.

"Why?" Giles asked.

"I've got some ideas," Dawn said. "We'll just have to see how it plays out," Dawn turned her attention back to Olivia. "You don't understand yet Olivia. When it comes to magic, it's not a question of what you can or can't do. The question is; what are you willing to pay or sacrifice to accomplish your goal?"

* * *

A/N – I realize it's been a while since I've updated this particular fic. I'm going to be honest about why. 

This story has gotten away from me. When I started writing this I had something completely different in mind from what it has become. It was going to be a relatively light story focusing on Olivia and Alex. I didn't think through the implications of dropping a character like Olivia into the middle of the Slayer world. The kinds of questions she would ask the things she would see and focus on. The story ended up going in a completely different direction from what I planned.

So before I could move on I've had to re-evaluate where I was going. A lot of the stuff I had planned on doing in this fic is going to have to be abandoned. Part of the reason I've been having such a hard time moving forward is I keep trying to force that stuff back in. So I jettisoned it.

Hopefully that means updates will come a quicker. I don't know. This story has proven to be the most stubborn thing I've ever written. For a few moments I debated abandoning it. But I'm not going to do that. It's going to take longer than I planned, but I will finish this story. Just as soon as I figure out what that ending is going to be.


	20. Chapter Nineteen – Miracles?

Chapter Nineteen – Miracles?

Olivia was still trying to process what Dawn had said when the younger woman looked down at her watch.

"Nuts," Dawn said. "Four and half hours until the wedding and I still have a ton of stuff to get done. Stupid British Museum."

"What?" Olivia said.

"Guardian is working with the British Museum to repatriate some the artifacts that were recovered from the San Cristo," Dawn explained. "One of the curators there somehow managed to get a hold of an inventory of what was supposed to have been on board. Apparently the Captain sent a listing ahead of what he was planning on bringing back. In was in the archives of the Museo de América in Madrid. Now she wants to know why some of the items on that list were not recovered from the San Cristo or why they weren't on the inventories we provided them. I wasted 90 minutes on the phone with her this morning."

"Why does that matter?" Olivia asked.

"Because we did recover them," Dawn said. "We're just not going to turn them over. One of them is a binding object for a demon that had been killing people up and down the Central and South American coastline for almost seven months. Stopping that demon was why we hired the salvage crew to go looking for the San Cristo in the first place. The gold and other stuff was just a bonus. We're going to secure that one in our own archives. A couple of other artifacts also have magical properties. Our Rio office is working to find who has proper claim to them now."

"So you have to convince them that you don't have to turn them over," Olivia said.

"Which should have been easy," Dawn said. "Because Guardian has a long history of holding unto artifacts we recover from the expeditions we fund. Mostly because they have some power connected to them that we need to secure. Usually it's not a problem. We funded the salvage team and did all the research. The wreck was in international waters. Salvage rights are well established. But this lady really wants to know what happened."

Giles perked up at that comment. "Is it possible she may be aware of their true significance?"

Dawn shrugged, "Background check on her came back negative. She comes across as just being overly officious and picky. I've worked with her on a couple of other things."

"Nonetheless, we should look closely at this matter," Giles said. "Guardian has a long history with the British Museum. They are well aware of the fact that we occasionally hold back finds for our own collection. They rarely raise objections."

Dawn nodded. "I'll give Linda a heads up and have research do a more thorough check on our curator. But before I do that, I really need to get on this wedding stuff. I've got to check on the preparations in the gym. Make sure Andrew didn't have the caterer bring in Klingon food again. Review the security layout with Hiko. And let's not forget getting my hair done."

"Klingon food?" Olivia was puzzled.

"Last year he had a party catered with a Babylon 5 theme," Dawn said. "Twenty different varieties of Swedish Meatballs. Xander thought it was hilarious. The rest of us had no idea what was going on. It's our own fault for letting a geek be in charge of all the food."

Olivia blinked. The way Dawn and the others just switched from serious matters to seemingly irrelevant subjects in an eye blink was disconcerting. They almost seemed to take a perverse pride in the ability. She glimpsed at Giles and saw that he was calmly polishing his glasses with the resigned look of a man who long ago accepted what he couldn't change.

"So when are Buffy and Faith going to get back?" Olivia asked.

"Probably about a half hour or so," Kennedy answered. "They made another sweep of the area to make sure they got all the vamps."

"Come on," Dawn said. "You can get your hair done with me. One of the Slayers is a hairdresser. She's set up in one of the rec rooms upstairs. Just close your eyes if she decides you need a trim. She won't hurt you. But scissors are not meant to move that fast. You do want to look your best for the wedding this afternoon?"

Olivia smiled. She'd almost forgotten she'd come here for a wedding.

"Fine," Olivia said. "I suppose I should get ready."

* * *

A short while later Olivia was back in the room she shared with Buffy and Dawn. She took a moment to really study the room. It was as sparse as Buffy's office downstairs. Other than a few pictures of the Scoobies and some people she didn't recognize there was no decoration on the walls. If anything the place looked like a hotel room. It didn't have the feel that someone lived here as Buffy claimed she did. Even if she was on the road six or more months out of the year, this place should have a more lived in look. 

She re-called how Kate had told her that Buffy sometimes came across as disconnected from the world. Her office and apartment both gave off that same vibe. Buffy didn't 'live' here. She just inhabited the space.

Faith had to be on the road at least as often as Buffy was and she had her own house in Cleveland that she shared with Robin. All the Scoobies sounded like they had put together semi-normal lives. Dawn had commented on her London flat several times during their extended e-mail correspondence over the past year.

Olivia kept trying to figure out what could have happened to Buffy. She was certain Buffy had found a way out. A way not to be the Slayer. And then the Scoobies dragged her back. Somehow that led them to making every girl with the Potential to be a Slayer a Slayer. It just didn't make sense.

She turned when she heard the door open. Buffy came in waving to someone in the hall.

"Hello Olivia," Buffy said. "Give me a few minutes to change and then we can talk," she said as she whipped past Olivia in a blur.

Good to her word Buffy came out of her room about 25 minutes later in her bridesmaid dress. Olivia had to blink at the transformation. "How the hell?"

"Years of practice going from demon goo and vampire dust to radiant," Buffy said. "Unfortunately it's a necessary skill in this line of work. The upside is I'm helping to put two of the drycleaner's kids through college."

"Buffy…"

Buffy sighed. "Have a seat Olivia," she motioned to one of the chairs.

Olivia sat down and Buffy took the seat opposite her.

"Alright Olivia," Buffy said. "What do you want to know?"

"How did you get out?"

"What?"

"Everyone keeps saying there is no way not to be a Slayer," Olivia said. "That all those girls just have to accept that fighting is what they'll do for the rest of their lives. I don't believe that. You found a way out. Whatever the price was it has to be better than putting those girls in the middle of a war."

"I didn't get out Olivia," Buffy said. "I've always been the Slayer. And I always will be the Slayer."

Olivia shook her head. "You're trying to tell me the only way out for those girls is to die. No. Dawn said it was bringing you back that hurt you. Back to the Slayer. What did they do to you? I can see the pain."

Buffy looked up at the window. She seemed to be composing her thoughts. She turned back to Olivia. "About eight years ago we faced a true god. We managed to stop her, but not before she set her plan in motion. The world was literally minutes away from going bye-bye. There was only one way to stop it. And that was blood. My blood. So I stopped it. God I was so tired. Mom, Angel … I had to give so much up for the world. There wasn't another choice. So I did what I had to do. One last time. I saved the world."

"What are you talking about," Olivia said. "You're still here. You sound like you died …" something began to click in back of Olivia's mind. "You died?"

"Dead and buried for almost four months," Buffy said.

"But, how can you be here?"

"Willow, Xander they … they brought me back."

"That's amazing," Olivia said. "They brought you back to life. Back to your friends, your family. That's a miracle."

Buffy let out a bitter little laugh. She got up from her chair and walked over to the window. "Do you know what Hell is Olivia?"

"I don't understand," Olivia answered. "It's supposed to be where the bad guys go. You were in Hell?"

"No," Buffy said. "That's not Hell. And it's not any of the silly dimensions that call themselves Hell. I've been to a couple of those. They're bad places but they're not Hell."

"Buffy?"

Buffy reached out and put her hand on the window. "The real Hell isn't a place. It's the absence of a place. Hell is any place that's not Heaven. This is Hell."

Olivia was trying to figure out what Buffy was saying. "You were in Heaven. And Xander, Willow the others they … they …"

"They brought me back here," Buffy said. "Where I have to fight. Where everything is hard. Where it's all separate and … and … there just aren't words. I can remember it. But I can't describe it. I don't think I remember everything. I don't think it's possible to have all of that in my head."

Olivia just stared at her. She was dead and somehow they brought her back. Part of her mind kept insisting that was a miracle. She thought about the people she had lost. The ones she couldn't save. Was it possible to bring them back?

Another part of her couldn't let go of the idea that Heaven existed. That Buffy had been there in some form. And now she was here. And she thought of this world as Hell.

Yet another part of her mind kept thinking about what Dawn and others had been drilling into her since the day she arrived. Magic had a price. They brought Buffy back.

"What did it cost to bring you back?" Olivia asked in almost a whisper.

"Willow's spell needed blood," Buffy said. "So she sacrificed a deer."

"She killed an animal," Olivia was shocked. "The others …"

"They didn't know about that part," Buffy said. "They should have. They'd been around magic long enough. But you'd be amazed how blind you can make yourself. I've done the same thing. Blinded myself to the consequences of my actions."

"You really think of this world as Hell?"

Buffy turned around. Olivia could see the pain in her eyes.

"For a long time, I just wanted it all to stop," Buffy said. "I wanted to die. Just looking at my 'friends' hurt. I did things just to feel something. It was months before I could accept the idea of living."

Olivia could hear the pain in Buffy's voice.

"How could they not know?" Olivia asked.

"I didn't tell them at first," Buffy answered.

"What?'

"Just like you, they thought they did a miracle," Buffy said. "They thought they saved me from some hell dimension. They had their friend back. I didn't tell them what really happened."

"Why not?" Olivia demanded.

"I don't know," Buffy said. "They were my friends. They didn't understand what they did. I didn't want to hurt them. That's what I do. Maybe I should have told them from the beginning. Maybe things would have been different. But there was so much happening. Just getting life sorted out was … I don't know. The Slayer is supposed to be strong. The Slayer is supposed to protect. So I thought I was protecting them. Being strong for them."

"But…"

"The past is the past Olivia," Buffy said. "I can't fix. We all screwed up."

Olivia could feel anger rising in the back of her mind. To take that kind of peace away from someone. She began to rise from her chair.

"Where are you going Olivia?" Buffy asked.

Olivia shook her head. The part of Olivia that was a cop was moving her towards the door. What Willow and Xander did. That demanded justice.

"Olivia?"

"They have to pay Buffy," Olivia said.

"And who said you're the one to make them pay?" Buffy said.

"That's my job Buffy," Olivia answered. She didn't know what she was going to do. But she had to do something. Without any warning Olivia found herself pinned to the wall. Buffy was staring directly into her eyes. The sadness was gone. In its place was the Slayer.

"Listen very carefully," Buffy said in a controlled voice. "I don't need someone else getting revenge for me. I am the Slayer. If I wanted Willow and Xander to suffer any more than they already have. I can do it myself," Buffy pulled back. She closed her eyes and when she opened them she was herself again. "You don't know what they've already been through. Tara, Anya. The town where they grew up. All any us had when Sunnydale fell were the clothes on our backs. You don't even want to know how many banking and securities laws Willow broke getting access to our money."

"They hurt you."

"And I forgave them for it," Buffy said. "As much I ever can. It'll never be like it was before. There are things we don't talk about anymore. Stuff we don't share. But Willow and Xander have been family since the day I met them. They've been there from the start. They know how it works. I need them. This place needs them. No one else knows what they know and no one else can do the things they do."

"So you just accept the pain?" Olivia said. "How can you stand to deal this world?"

"Because we changed things," Buffy said. "I spent seven years as the Chosen One. Seven years defined by what I killed. That changed after Sunnydale."

"How?"

"I can build something now," Buffy said. "Those girls out there. They're my responsibility. I can build something for them. And they can build their own lives. I never had the chance to do anything like that before. I never had a chance to have a life beyond the next hunt. I can now. It can't replace what I lost. Nothing can. But it's enough. It gives me a purpose. And purpose is more than a lot of people get in this world."

Olivia studied the woman in front of her. She could still see the pain in her eyes. But there was determination there as well. And wisdom. Age beyond her years. The world had beaten her down and she was still fighting to protect it.

"You could leave," Olivia said. "There's lots of Slayers now. Someone else could do your job. You could find a life."

"And give up my purpose?" Buffy shook her head. "You know as well as I do it doesn't work that way."

"What?"

"Quit your job on when you go back on Monday," Buffy said. "There are other people who can do it. You have a choice."

Olivia was dumbfounded by the comment. She shook her head. "I can't do that. I…"

"You have a choice," Buffy said. "But you've already made it. You can no more walk away from those responsibilities, from those people, than I can walk away from here."

"And the other Slayers," Olivia said. "What choice did they have?"

"Not much of one," Buffy acknowledge. "At the time it was either accept the power. Or die. And you're right; I made that choice for them. The First was murdering all the Potentials. From what we figured out, it was using the power of those kills to make itself stronger. Make it so it could affect more of the world. Draw up an army Turok-Han."

"And bringing you back made that possible?"

"Magic has a price," Buffy said. "Willow and Dawn can explain it better than I can. They figured it out. We can save that for later. What need to understand now is that if you want to change the world, the world has to pay a price. You want there to be no Slayers. You want so no fifteen year old girls have to fight a war. The only way to do that is to kill them. Every Slayer has to die. Then you have to kill every single Potential. All those girls under fifteen. Right down to the one born today. Then and only then will you be able to change the world. And that's when you'll find out what the real price will be."

Olivia stepped back. She collapsed into her chair. "There has to be a better way."

"The Slayer has existed in one form or another for millions of years," Buffy said. "It is a primal being. It's a part this world. Removing it means changing the world. And that carries a price tag. Think about the cost of removing an Adolf Hitler. Of the fall of the Soviet Union. Colonizing America. Running all our cars on oil. It's not just magic. It's the way world works. You want to do something there's a price tag. Right or wrong, good or bad, someone somewhere is going to pay for it."

"And those girls pay for it by being Slayers?"

"Or the world would have died," Buffy said. "But it's different now. They have sisters, who teach them, protect them and who will do everything in our power to make damn sure what happened to me, to Faith, to Kendra, to all the Slayers that came before us, does not happen to them. They will not be alone."


End file.
